


I'll make my way back home (to find me tangled up with you.)

by electricteatime



Category: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (TV 2016)
Genre: A glowing jacket, Brotzly - Freeform, DGHDA Beginner Bang 2019, Disney Typical Storyline, Emotional Abuse, Fairytale Themes, Farah Black has a sword, It's about as dark as a Disney film no matter what the tags say I promise!, M/M, Magic, Manipulation and Kidnapping, Tangled AU, Temporary Character Death, True Love, WHAT MORE COULD YOU WANT?, You don't have to have seen Tangled to read this!, all the feelings, mild violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2019-05-25
Packaged: 2020-03-08 06:38:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 61,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18889189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/electricteatime/pseuds/electricteatime
Summary: ***“Lanterns.” Dirk breathes, a giddy rush of hope welling up in his chest. “Iknewthey weren’t stars!”***Dirk Gently dreams of one thing, and one thing only; seeing the mysterious lights that rise in the sky once a year. The problem with that is that he’s never left his room before, much less his tower, and with every warning his father has given him he’s not sure he can bring himself to do it alone.Which is exactly when Todd Brotzman crashes into his life. Or, rather, the business end of his frying pan.What do a regretful criminal and a boy with magical glowing hair have in common? Not a lot, it turns out. But as they embark on a journey that promises to fulfill their dreams, somewhere along the way they’ll realise that all of the things they’d been looking for mean nothing compared to what they eventually find together.Featuring a full cast of cameos, a glowing yellow jacket, and Farah Black weilding a sword, it’s a Tangled AU that nobody asked for (but I hope you enjoy reading anyway.)





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's me! I'm back again! With a Tangled AU I started writing in... a year that doesn't matter. I've been sitting on this for a while. I'm sorry.
> 
> This is my Beginner Bang entry, which means it comes with art! Not only did it come with art, it comes with incredible, adorable art by [incorrigible-worksop](https://incorrigible-worksop.tumblr.com) which you can find [here!](https://incorrigible-worksop.tumblr.com/post/185122826730/my-finished-paintings-for-the-dghdabigbang). You have no excuse for not checking this out, because not only is the art wonderful, _she's_ wonderful. Honestly, I couldn't be happier to have worked with her on this, it might not exist if it wasn't for her. This whole experience has been wonderful and working with you made that happen <3 
> 
> Speaking of incredible people this fic wouldn't exist without, [juniper-and-lamplight](https://juniper-and-lamplight.tumblr.com) has been the most supportive, wonderful, fun, amazing beta I could have wished for. Sharing unedited half finished fics with people is pretty scary, but it got to a point where I'd just throw her chapters at a stupid speed at all times of the night and I wasn't worried about that at all. Thank you for putting up with me, my inability to maintain a tense, and my overuse of commas. It was a delight working with you <3
> 
> Rounding out the thanks, I have to send some to [dont-offend-the-bees](https://dont-offend-the-bees.tumblr.com) for running this whole thing. It wouldn't have gone anywhere without you and you've handled it amazingly well <3
> 
> Right then, I'll shut up now and let you get on with it. I sincerely hope you enjoy this fic. Sorry it's so long!

It is the nature of families to have secrets, legends passed down from parent to child, until the truth is so obscured it's almost impossible to believe it at all. By the time they are adults, most will have shrugged off such tales as little more than memories of childhood fancy, sworn to secrecy by a wizened elder sat by the fire. Our story is not one of these tales, but it is certainly caused by one. Our story finds its roots in another, once told to a little boy enchanted by the tale of his family’s deepest secret, who over time grew into a man obsessed with proving its truth.

When he is all but eight years old, Scott’s grandmother asks him to bring her the box she keeps bound and hidden under her bed. It’s an old thing, light enough that he believes it to be empty at first, but when she finally allows him to open it, he finds a coil of rope. It’s golden, just about big enough to wrap around his wrist, and compared to the age of the box it’s been stored in, it looks like new. There’s very little remarkable about it, except perhaps the soft weightlessness he finds when he picks it up, and the story that comes with it. 

It goes, as told to the boy, that once there was a woman who we might call a witch, living deep in the woods of a nearby land. She lived a simple life, giving back to the land all she took from it, and making potions and charms to heal the local villagers and bring them prosperity. The people looked on her kindly, but not without suspicion, and so her time was often spent alone, until one day she gave birth to a child. 

Nobody knew how the child came to be. The gossipers say an illegitimate heir to the throne, the disrespectful would say from the common fancy of wild women of the woods, but most believed the child to have been born of the magic the woman so frequently practiced, because she loved the child as dearly as she did her craft. Regardless, the child was happy and bright and full of life, delighting all who ventured out to buy her mother's wares and met her along the way. She drove her mother wild with worry, wandering off at all hours to discover the secrets of the woods, but those concerns were always proven unfounded by the time the child returned, excited, exhausted, and full of joy. Until of course, they were not. 

It started in the morning as nothing but a cough, a wretched and wracking thing, thought by her mother to be easily remedied with honey, bed rest, and a watchful eye. But fate, it would seem, had different ideas, and by night time, the girl would not wake. 

For days her mother tried all she knew of healing to try and wake her, but her potions made little improvement, her spells and charms inspired no change. She exhausted her books, her knowledge, her supplies, until tired and desperate she did the only thing she felt she had left to do, and pleaded with the powers of the universe she had served so loyally to help her just this once. 

In the end, hope came in the form of a flower, grown to full bloom before her eyes from a single drop of sunlight, watered by her tears. The purity of her love and the depth of her grief bringing new life to fruition, the fear of loss bringing with it new hope. She was instructed by those we can no longer hear, to take the plant in two parts. The flower to make a potion to be fed to her daughter at sunrise, and the stems to be woven into a rope, just large enough to encircle her wrist. Together, they would heal her, inside and out. 

The rope was placed around her wrist as instructed, and by the first light of dawn, clinging to the last dredges of hope, she tipped the potion as carefully as she could into her daughters mouth.

For a moment all was still, even the birds held back their song, until suddenly the room burst into glowing, golden light. 

The girl remained unmoving as sunlight poured from her chest, the rope around her wrist growing and moving, snaking longer and wider to wind up around her arms, across her shoulders, down her body until it blanketed her in the softest golden fabric ever seen by mortal eyes. Her mother watched from behind her fingers, shielding her eyes as best she could but unable to look away, too afraid that something could go wrong and she might lose her daughter forever. 

As the sun finally rose over the horizon, the glow of the room dimmed until it disappeared completely, leaving the mother to approach her daughter's bedside, filled with awe and gentle hope when her eyes blinked open to look at her. 

From that day on the girl carried the gift with her everywhere she went, finding that not only did the power inside her hold enough light to heal the sick, but that with nothing but a thought the rope she wore around her wrist could be twisted to any shape she desired. Blankets and bracelets and scarves, all of the same golden threads made of the flower that saved her, and in turn gave her the power to save others. She was never seen without it in one form or another, tied to it as much as it was to her, for neither had power without the other. Away from her touch it would coil back to the loose fitted bracelet her mother had woven for her, and without it she found herself unable to pull forwards the sunlight within her, and so she wore it all of her days. Long past her mother's death, past when she had her own children, until she was old and frail, and upon her death the gift was passed to her son, who found when he touched it that he had inherited his mother's gift, and sought to use it the way she had taught him. 

But time was not kind, and the laws grew stricter as suspicion of such powers grew, digging their superstitious poisons into the roots of the world and weeding out those who practiced, one by one, until the land was all but cleared of their kind. 

There were rumours of course, that some survived, that the descendants of Elidi, daughter of the sun, had gone into hiding, and to prevent their powers from ever being discovered the gift had been taken and entrusted to the boy’s ancestors. Kept in safe keeping, until one day the stems would find their way back to the flower, and the powers made whole again. 

It was a story his father scoffed at, one his mother rolled indulgent eyes at when he asked more questions, only to be sent to bed. It was only the grandmother who would tell him anything more, pressing the box into his hands and telling him to take it for safekeeping, that perhaps he may find the sun's descendants after all, and reunited their powers could be used to heal the entire land. 

All may have been well, all stories left to memory, had the grandmother not died that night, leaving Scott with a dying promise and a sense of impending destiny. His grandmother had known, he decided. Known it was her time, known she needed to pass the secret on so he could continue the search, known that out of everyone she could have gifted this to, he was the one who could find the sun's descendants, and heal the land of the blighted darkness that kept true prosperity from their doors. 

In the end, it takes him thirty years to do what entire generations before him could not.

***

When their time comes, Prince Patrick is married to Princess Catherine in a marriage set to bring peace and unity to the land. They rule both fairly and justly, with kindness and compassion and a will to restore the land that Patrick’s father had run near to ruin in his years on the throne. Despite the many blessings laid upon them, the one they desired the most was the one that appeared furthest from their reach, for try as they might they could not conceive a child, and determined though they were to rule all the same there was no denying the toll each fresh heartbreak took upon the young couple. Beloved as they were, their subjects grieved with them, but this was still of little comfort when they longed for a child to call their own. 

As so often happened in their kingdom, the King and Queen’s miracle came about in an unexpected way. 

It’s six years into their rule when a baby is found on the steps of the palace, and it seems all at once that they have finally found an answer. Left with a note stamped only with the emblem of a glowing golden flower, and a handwritten message declaring the child a blessing entrusted to their care, the decision to adopt the child as their own is made as soon as they can be sure that nobody is coming to claim him. 

Soon enough the news is announced, and for a moment all is well. The baby has a home, the rulers have a son, and the entire kingdom fills with joy to celebrate the herald of a new age. For a baby means an heir, and an heir means hope for them yet. There is perhaps only one man who is not so certain of a peaceful future. A man who prefers not to leave such fates to chance. 

Rumours are one thing Scott knows how to listen to, and there are _always_ rumours. Rumours about where the child came from, rumours that it may be the result of some royal affair, rumours that the people would revolt against an heir not of royal lineage. There are all sorts rumours spilled over pints of ale and a free hot meal, but it takes him a while to sift through the standard gossip, to ease enough tongues to find the people who really _know_. The people who can tell him stories from the palace itself, the people who will tell him things they think he won’t believe. 

When he finds the nursemaid sipping malt in the back of an inn, Scott doesn’t hesitate to take his chance. She is easy to charm when he makes it clear he’d rather listen than talk, and once she _does_ start talking there’s very little to stop her. 

She tells him about the palace, about the joy the baby has brought. The way she’s never seen the Queen so happy, nor the King in such good humour. She talks about the preparations, how they’ve barely had him half a year and yet they’re busy setting plans for his future lessons, ready to train him up to one day take over the kingdom and rule it the best he can. The more she drinks, the more she talks, and when her words are starting to slur together she tells him about the boy himself. The way he kept them all entertained, the way he cried at all hours of the night, the way he loved to be held, and the way he was being spoiled rotten by his parents, and would be so for years if they had it their way. The way sometimes she was sure when she caught him looking at her, that he was seeing more than she could. The way that, only once or twice, in a way that had seemed _impossible_ , in a way he wouldn’t believe, in a way _she_ wouldn’t believe if she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, the child had honestly _truly_ laughed with pure joy.

And every hair on his head had shone with sunlight. 

Scott knows in that instant that his suspicions are true, that all his waiting, all his searching hasled right to this moment here. 

He thanks her before he leaves, paying for both of their drinks on the way out, trying to work out what to do now. 

Within the week, he has a job at the palace. 

It was easy to get the job, Scott is rather good at keeping to himself, and he knows how quickly staff are being fired for some incompetence or dishonesty. He spends days mapping out the hallways as he runs messages all through the court, weeks making notes on the guard rotations, and months testing out the best times to find the child alone, until he’s certain he knows how to execute his plan without the slightest chance of being caught. 

It’s the night before the young prince’s birthday that he decides to carry out the plan, heart racing as he walks through the halls like he’s meant to be there, silent and unnoticed by most of the staff along the way save the few that nod to him like they always do. He keeps his hand wrapped tightly around the coil of rope in his pocket, growing more and more excited with every step he takes. His plan is just to test it, nothing more, just to see if the rumours are true. He tells himself he has to prepare for the chance that they’re not, that the loose tongue of a drunk nursemaid has shattered many a man’s hopes, but though he’s gotten close before it’s never felt quite like this, and as he slips into the nursery where all is dark and still, all he can feel is anticipation. 

When he pulls back the curtain surrounding the cot, the child is sleeping soundly. For a moment all he does is stare, wondering if something so small really _could_ be the answer to his destiny. If this child, with his help, could be the one to bring peace to the land and save them all. He reaches out carefully, stroking his fingers over his hair, soft and fine and if the rumours are to be believed, possessing the ability to turn to spun sunlight at chance. Or, perhaps, at _will_.

Scott pulls back abruptly, glancing around the room and realising he’s already likely lingered too long. His hand shakes as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out the treasure he’s guarded so closely all of these years, barely daring to breathe as he takes his chance and slips the rope bracelet onto the sleeping child's wrist. 

At first there’s nothing, and his heart begins to sink to his stomach. But then the child shifts, discomforted by something interrupting his rest, and the rope around his wrist begins to glow. 

He watches, wide eyed and hopes soaring, as the child’s hair is washed with the same golden light, the rope untwining where they meet, strands undoing themselves only to grow, changing shape and stretching out before they begin to weave themselves back together to take on a new form. 

Slowly, the sunlight recedes until every last thread and every last hair has been extinguished, leaving behind no trace of the magic they’d conjured, except for the golden blanket that has settled over the boy in his sleep. 

The intention had only ever been to see if the rumours were true, but in this moment Scott realises that he’d been working on the assumption that they wouldn’t be. No matter what he’d _wanted_ , he’d never actually let himself _dream_ he’d actually find it. And now here it is, found at last. The child is small, soft and vulnerable as he lies sleeping in his cot, and the kingdom may think that an heir is all they need, but he knows better. He alone knows the true power this child possesses, he alone knows what it means. The story his grandmother had told him lives on only through him, and the responsibility passed down through his family for a cause long thought dead now rests solely on his shoulders. 

What lies before him isn’t a child, it’s proof. It’s a _promise_. It’s confirmation that no matter what his parents had believed, Scott had always been right, that everything he’d strived for all of his life had been true all along. That he _can_ fulfil his destiny, do what nobody else would dare. With this power in his hands, he can heal the land and bring peace to the kingdom the way he’s always known he was meant to do.

The risk of leaving the boy here is too great. His powers could go unacknowledged, untrained, unused. Perhaps once word gets out, because if talkative nursemaids proved anything it’s that nothing stays secret for long, he could even be exploited for the magic he contains. 

He knows now what he has to do, what he had to do all along. In the end it’s an easy decision to make, because doing the right thing always is, and he hasn’t dedicated his life to finding this boy to give up when he’s only reached the first stepping stone. Together, they can heal every wrong in the world, and Scott is not going to let that go to waste, no matter how long that dream takes to come to fruition. 

By the time they realise the baby is gone, it’s far too late to find him. 

With the sunrise the kingdom plunges into grief at fresh hope being ripped away, and as the hours march on with no trace of their beloved prince they start to feel the creeping sense of dread that the darkest of days has come upon them. Though the entire kingdom commits to the search, they don’t find so much as a hair. The king’s guard vows not to return empty handed, but by the time night falls on the first day, even he feels despair weighing upon his shoulders. Though the answer is obvious, nobody dares speak it. A baby alone will not survive the night outside the city. No matter how they vow to never stop searching, a child taken with no trace left behind is unlikely to ever be found. 

When the night truly settles over the kingdom, it feels all hope is lost. Parents keep their children close, doors shut tight against the fear that grips their hearts, and in the palace the King and Queen keep a vigilant watch over their stolen child’s empty bed, filling the silence of the room only with their tears.

Far away, in the depths of the woods, Scott climbs the steps of the hidden tower with a baby clutched tightly in his arms. Those steps will later be sealed off and hidden away as the child grows older, raised entirely as his own, and knowing no world nor life outside of the walls of the tower where he will kept safe until such a time his powers can be used to do what Scott was always meant to do with them, and rid the world of all that ails it. 

And so that's where our story truly begins. With a missing prince, a desperate man, and a secret not quite lost to time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked this chapter please leave a comment! It's pretty much the only kind of payment I get for this so you know, that'd be cool of you <3


	2. One

To say Dirk Gently’s life runs by routine would be something of an understatement. His father insists (and he tries to believe) that there’s always _something_ to be done, but having lived his whole life in the top of a tower he _knows_ how untrue that can be, even if he’s learned by now not to say it. 

His day starts, somewhat begrudgingly, with chores he always has to convince himself are necessary. When you live in one room it shouldn’t be hard to muster the energy required to clean it, but when cleaning is as boring as it is he finds it better to get it out of the way as soon as possible so he can spend the rest of the day pretending he’ll never have to do it again. Not that the rest of the day is much better. There are only so many things he can do in such a space, and as much as his father tries to bring him things to keep himself occupied, he can’t really bring himself to feel particularly inspired by re-reading the select few books he’s had for years now, or by painting and re-painting the walls to the best of his ability, which is to say most of the time he makes rather a mess of it. An _inventive_ mess, but a mess all the same. The only thing he’s ever really managed to get right are the stars that cover his ceiling, but even he will concede that it took far longer than it should have given that they are, aside from the golden lights he’s painted over on one side, just white circles of varying sizes speckled over the dark blue paint underneath. It’s good enough that sometimes at night if he squints his eyes a little, he can pretend he’s outside under the night sky. It feels important somehow to cling to the pretense. 

It’s that ceiling he’s staring at now, splayed out on his back on the freshly cleaned floor like a starfish, and trying not to think too hard about how he’s got an entire day left and very little to do with it. Really, the only thing he’s glad for is the company. 

“Do you think there are more stars? On the other side of the tower, I mean. I’d ask, but…” Dirk sighs, watching Mona skitter about above his head. She’s being a hummingbird today, it’s a form he thinks she enjoys. He doesn’t really _know_ , it’s not like she can _talk_ , but they’ve been friends for long enough that he thinks he can understand her at least a _little_. Some forms are easier to read than others. “I suppose you could find out. Fly out there and take a look. But then again, you couldn’t tell me, could you? And besides, I don’t want you getting hurt. Bad things happen outside to people like _me_ , I can’t bear to think what could happen to someone as small as _you_.”

He’s not sure why he always refers to Mona as if she’s a person, not entirely sure why he named her at all really. She’s his only friend though, even if she’s a little confusing, changing form from one day to the next, albeit never to a creature bigger than one which can rest easily in the palm of his hand, and it feels somehow like it would be _wrong_ to refer to her any other way. Sometimes though he does wish she could talk back to him. He doesn’t like to think of it as being _lonely_ , not when he has Mona, and the characters in his books, and his father who spends so much time trying his best to take care of him even though he knows he can make that difficult too. It’s just that _sometimes_ , if he really _thinks_ about it, he wonders if maybe there are more people out there who might want to talk to him as much as he wants to talk to them.

“I don’t mind. Not _really_ ,” he doesn’t know who he’s trying to convince when Riggins isn’t here, turning his head just enough to be able to see out of the window and to the blue, _blue_ sky beyond, fluffy white clouds sailing by without a care in the world. He sighs, pulling himself to his feet to wander over, watching Mona flitter back and forth over the sill. “It’s safe in here,” he tells her when she hovers outside for too long, like she’s waiting for him to follow. “It’s just… the world looks so _big_ out there. There have to be other safe places, don’t there?” Mona lands on his shoulder, pressing her tiny, feathered head against his cheek. It’s a comforting gesture, but it does little to quell the desire in his stomach, the _need_ to know more. He has _so_ many questions, and nobody to answer them when curiosity is the _last_ thing his father appreciates so he tries _so_ hard to push it all down, somewhere where it won’t slip out of him by accident and earn him familiar disapproval. Curiosity goes in the box he keeps with his desires, wants, _needs_. Freedom is so close, just outside the window, and yet for him at least it rests so far away, just as out of reach as the stars. 

Or the _lights._

He knows the day the lights will appear is approaching. They do so once a year, and it had taken him some time to work that out, keeping track of the days between and eventually noticing that they always come out to light up the sky on the one day of the year reserved for _him_. His birthday is coming up soon, and with it comes the one thing Dirk actively looks forward to even if he doesn’t quite understand it. The spectacle is something to behold, the night sky, usually so dark and still broken only by the moon and stars, suddenly flaring to life with thousands of floating lights. They rise slowly upwards, filling the sky and dancing among the stars, until one by one they slowly die out and the night returns to its rest. Dirk has never dared tell his father, but he’s always felt the pull of an unshakeable draw towards them. Like they’re important to him, like they’re _for_ him. Like he and the lights are linked in some strange, inexplicable way that he’s never been able to fathom, but each year like clockwork will draw him to the window and ignite, for that brief amount of time at least, a desire to go beyond. It feels like it should unsettle him, but something about it also feels as right as the very magic that resides in his blood. A part of him, a call to something greater, a need to find the source, find the _cause_ , the _reason_. To see if it is all connected to something bigger. If maybe _he_ has somewhere he could fit in. A reason for being that isn’t just _this_.

Eventually he turns away from the window, knowing it will do no good to long for something he can never have. But he’s been wondering lately if maybe he _can_ have a little of it, more than just a glimpse, maybe a _day,_ just the one. Maybe if he doesn’t go alone, or doesn’t go too far. Maybe. 

The breeze streams in and ruffles his hair as he settles down to read one of his well loved books, Mona resting next to him. He reads aloud to her, sharing an adventure safe inside the walls, and wonders if there will ever be anything in his life worth writing about. 

He doubts it. 

The thought makes his heart ache for reasons he can’t quite comprehend. 

***

As far as situations go, Todd’s current one is _less_ than ideal. He takes a moment, perched on the roof of the palace with the last two people in the world he’d trust to catch him if he slipped, to reflect on that. 

“Look guys, I’m not sure this is-”

“This again?” Dorian cuts him off, more of an angry hiss although he’d be yelling if he could manage it without getting them caught. “Give me one good reason we shouldn’t just throw him off the roof.”

Todd swallows heavily, doing his best to ignore the fact that Gordon looks like he’s actually considering it. They’re idiots, there’s no arguing that, but that doesn’t make them any less dangerous. Todd wishes he’d never even met them. 

“Because he’s the only one small enough to get what we need. Besides, he owes us, be a waste to kill him before he gets chance to pay us back. You feel like dying today, Todd?”

“Uh,” Todd stalls, eyeing the long drop down to the courtyard floor. “Not really?”

“There we go then. Sort this job, get the crown, you're alive, we'll be richer and everyone is happy!”

Dorian grumbles his response but seems satisfied enough with the answer for the time being. Todd only has the luxury of a few seconds to be relieved by the fact that he’s avoided being thrown off the roof for now, before Gordon takes him by the shoulders and pushes him towards the rooftop window. 

“Are-” he swallows, looking nervously between the window Gordon is easing open and the rope Dorian is unwinding. Everything in him is screaming that this is a bad idea, that he should turn back and run away as far as possible, live as a hermit in the woods or something. It was stupid to get into debt with them anyway, but desperate times call for desperate measures and Todd is more desperate more often than he would like to be. He's never going to fix things if he's in prison though, and God only knows what they'd come up with to make him pay for his debts if he doesn't do this. Still, that doesn't mean he _trusts_ them. “Are you sure you can hold me?” 

Dorian snorts and drags him closer by the front of his tunic, lifting him up until his feet are barely grazing the roof tiles and flooding Todd with panic. 

“Less if we can, more if we _will_.” 

He stares him down, seemingly enjoying seeing Todd afraid, before dropping him back down and tossing him the rope. 

“Wanna make sure it's tight.” 

Todd barely catches his smirk as he sets about tying it as tight as he can stand. He doesn't trust them not to drop him, he doesn't trust them not to flee with the crown as soon as they've retrieved it and leave him to face the consequences, he certainly doesn't trust them not to screw him over, but he's here now, a million bad choices later, and once he's done this it will all be over. Todd _wants_ it to be over. 

It's with that in mind that he makes his way over to where Gordon has the window cracked open, gazing down on the guards below. 

“See it?” 

Todd looks over the edge and into the chamber below. The crown is resting where it has been since the prince had disappeared, on a plinth in the middle of the room, guarded by no less than two but no more than four guards. There's two there right now, Todd knows the palace well, but not this room, not really. Gaining information without making himself too suspicious had been hard, but he'd managed in the end. He almost wishes he hadn't. 

“Yeah. Yeah let's just… do it.” 

He regrets his words a moment later when Dorian picks him up, the end of the rope tied tightly to the base of the nearest tower and coiled through his fists. 

“Don't fuck this up,” he warns, smiling unpleasantly before he drops him over the edge. 

Todd manages not to cry out, but it's a _very_ close call. And then he doesn't have time to panic the way he wants to because they're lowering him down faster than he'd expected, so by the time his palms are sweaty enough to wonder if he's even going to be able to keep his grip he realises the crown is already within reach. 

Maybe, just _maybe_ , this is a stupid idea. 

Todd freezes, caught in indecision knowing he needs to just reach out and _take_ _it_ , but his heart is racing too fast in his ears for him to think properly. Dorian and Gordon could very easily throw him off the roof when this is done. They could leave him behind, they could turn him over and make a profit off of his arrest instead, or even as well as taking the crown. Clearing his debts with them had seemed promising, but it still leaves him in a mess, he still has very little in the way of money and more people after him than he'd like. There's no guarantee something like this won't happen again, and there's no way to guarantee this will even fix everything, not when he knows he won't be getting a share in this. All things he can admit he should have thought of _before_ , but now he's here he realises there's very little he can do about it. There's a sharp tug on the rope, and he knows they won't pull him back if he doesn't take it, knows he won't really be in less of a compromising situation if he _does_. He can't go back now, but he can maybe change what happens going forward. If he's going to do this, it needs to be worth it. 

There's very little time to consider this new course of events, the longer he hangs here the greater the chance of being caught, Dorian and Gordon are already starting to tug suspiciously on the rope like they're trying to get him to move. Todd glances up at them, and seeing the irritation on their faces is enough to seal the deal. _Screw them_. He reaches for the knife on his belt at the same time he snatches up the crown, and before they get chance to pull him up he slices through the rope, dropping to the floor and _running_ as fast as he possibly can away from the scene. 

The guards are after him in seconds, Gordon and Dorian's cries of outrage mixing in with the guards yelling for him to stop, but he doesn't dare look back, doesn't think about the threats and the _alarming_ number of feet he can hear racing behind him, just thanks his stars that he's been working here long enough to know all the best places to hide, the best ways to get in and out of the castle unseen, and wonders vaguely as he ducks into a mostly unused servants passage, if he could have made money selling those secrets instead. 

By the time he makes it out of the palace the alarm bells are sounding, the streets crawling with palace guards, and it's all he can do to just keep going until he reaches the edge of the forest, catching the blue fabric of his tunic on some of the thornier branches as he throws himself as far into the underbrush as he can get, finally allowing himself to sit and catch his breath behind a rock when he's far away enough that the bells aren't ringing in his ears anymore. 

It's only then that he takes out the crown, looks at the way it’s sparkling in the filtered sunlight, and wonders what the _hell_ he's meant to do with it now he has it. 

***

“Dirk!” 

The call comes sooner than expected and makes him jump, hitting his head on one of the beams above him as he scrambles to attention. Mona flitters up in a panic, circling a few times as Dirk shouts back a hasty, “coming!” and scrambles to clear away the mess he’s made, books strewn about and paint still wet on the walls. He doesn’t know if his father will notice, or approve if he does. Riggins is a serious man, he likes to keep order, but he’ll indulge in Dirk’s more creative side as long as it’s not causing too much trouble. He always tries not to cause too much trouble. 

“ _Dirk_!” he calls again, sounding impatient enough that Dirk decides it will just _have_ to do, willing his jacket to transform, winding down into a long rope as he pulls it through the hook embedded into the window and watches it grow down the side of the tower to the grass below. 

Pulling it up is _always_ more effort than he feels like it should be with the constant practice, but when his father climbs in through the window the first thing he does is ruffle Dirk’s hair. It makes him feel warm all the way down to his toes, like all the effort is worth it. 

“You’re getting slow,” he says, and Dirk’s smile falters just a little, watching him look around at the room, which is far less tidy than it should be. Riggins sighs, and Dirk winces. “And _messy._ We’ve talked about this.”

“I know! I know. I’m sorry, it’s just… I got distracted? I was going to tidy it- I _am_ going to tidy it! There _really_ isn’t much but it’s just a small space and I think that makes it-”

“We’ve talked about the babbling too,” he levels him with a heavy look before turning away to unpack his satchel, leaving Dirk hunching his shoulders, looking away as he chews on his lower lip to stop himself speaking. 

“Sorry,” he tells him softly, running the rope through his hands as it shrinks back to a more manageable length. 

Riggins sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose like he’s getting one of his headaches. Dirk knows all about them, knows he has to be careful not to be the _cause_ of them, and he tries, he really _does_ , it’s just that sometimes he gets more careless than he intends to be. There’s a familiar guilt that swirls in his stomach at the sight.

“Have you at least been practicing?” He asks, watching the way Dirk is twisting the rope around his fingers with mild disapproval. 

Dirk perks up immediately, because this at least is something he can do. Something Riggins might actually appreciate. The practice has been going fairly well recently, and Dirk might be a little bit proud of himself, and more than a little eager to make his father proud of him too. 

“Yes! I wanted to show you, I think I’m getting even better!” 

His father smiles, barely, but it’s there, and Dirk latches onto it as he waves him into his seat so he can show him how he’s progressing. They do this at least once every few days, Riggins says it’s good for him to be in constant practice but it’s _rare_ that Dirk makes any real development. He doesn’t _want_ to disappoint his father, but he also doesn’t know how to try any harder. Try as he might he can’t _make_ himself better at it, or even really what it is he’s meant to be better _at_. 

“Okay, so-” he starts, a little nervous as he holds the coil of rope in front of him and focuses all of his thoughts into the bond he can feel between them, the familiar warmth glowing inside reaching out for its counterpart. 

The room is bathed in gold the moment the connection is made, Dirk’s hair glowing as brightly as the rope he’s willing to unravel, concentrating as hard as he can on keeping control of each individual thread. It’s a part of him, an extension, a missing puzzle piece and he can feel himself channeling the power inside of him down and out through his fingertips and into the one thing that matches, that draws the power out of him and makes it into something he can _use_. The threads weave themselves back together when he thinks about it happening, willing them longer, shorter, out into a fine sheet large enough to cover him entirely, and into the tiniest thread small enough to wrap around his finger. The power is inside of him, he knows that, but without this it _stays_ there, and without the practice he has no control. Control, his father tells him, is _everything_. By the time he’s all but exhausted himself with the display, the threads weave themselves back into the familiar weight of his jacket settling about his shoulders, and he offers Riggins a tired, but hesitantly hopeful smile. He knows it’s an improvement, Mona had been _very_ impressed, but that doesn’t mean his father will see it that way. 

“Well, that was quite the show.” He says after a minute, looking pleased if only for a moment and Dirk clings to it, feeling elated to have gained some approval. It dissipates somewhat when he stands and ruffles his hair again. “At least you didn’t waste the _entire_ day.”

He swallows, doing his best to shake off the discomfort and focus on the fact that he’d been _pleased._ That he seems more at ease now Dirk has shown some kind of improvement. It feels good, to know he’s made him happy. 

“I could use your help with this.” Dirk frowns, watching as he rolls up his sleeve to reveal a nasty looking cut on his forearm. His eyes go wide and worried at the sight of it, pulling his jacket off in his haste to fix it. 

“What _happened_?” He asks, concern filling his voice as he presses his hands into the fabric and focuses all of his strength on knitting the skin back together the way he would the threads themselves. Riggins gets hurt like this often enough that the healing is second nature by now, but that doesn’t mean he _likes_ it. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t take a lot out of him to fix it when he’s wasted so much of his energy showing his father what he often deems parlour tricks. It’s just as well he doesn’t know about the array of fancy hats he was making for himself out of it the other day, he doubts that would go down well. 

“The world is a cruel place.” It’s the same, vague answer he gets every time, but somehow this time it strikes a little closer to his heart. He swallows, looking away as he pulls the jacket back to reveal the newly healed skin, looking like nothing had happened. This time his father drops a kiss to the top of his head, and Dirk tries not to smile too much at the kindness of the gesture. 

“I’ve been… wondering about that. Actually.” 

“About what?” Riggins asks, only half paying attention as he rolls his sleeves back down and makes his way over to his desk, dipping his quill in the ink to note down whatever it is he writes about. Dirk has never looked, but he thinks it’s about him. 

“Well. About a _lot_ of things really, there’s always _something_ to wonder about. But it’s just… tomorrow is my birthday and I don’t… it’s okay if you haven’t remembered! I know you’re busy and I _know_ what you’re doing is important it’s just that… I was wondering, well no I was _hoping_ that-”

“We’ve _talked_ about the rambling, Dirk.” He sighs heavily, the faint sound of scratching against parchment as he continues to write. 

“Right, yes, of course.” He nods feverently to himself, hugging his jacket a little closer for comfort. “I was just hoping that maybe… now that I’m going to be _older_ … I could go and see the floating lights?”

The scratching stops as his father pauses, seemingly caught off guard by the words. He doesn’t look back at him, but Dirk can _see_ the uncertainty in his posture, can visualise the way that he’s frowning at the page. 

“ _Floating lights?_ ” 

He sounds like he’s never heard of such a thing, and Dirk tries his best not to let that derail him. He’s determined to at least _ask_. “Yes! The ones in the sky? I was hoping you might… take me. To see them.”

Riggins laughs softly. “The stars?” he says, shaking his head as if amused by Dirk’s presumed naivety. “You can see those from here.”

“Um… no. They’re not-” he frowns, unsure how to clarify, gesturing up at the wall he’s painted the lights onto, wondering how Riggins doesn’t understand what he’s talking about. “I don’t… stars are there every night, but _these_ … you must have seen them! Every year they come out, just once, _only_ on my birthday and… they’re _special_. They’re… _amazing._ And I feel… I feel like maybe they’re… a _thing_. For me. Like I should know what they are. I need…” and he sounds a little desperate now, he knows he does, but that’s because he _is_. It’s the _one_ thing he needs an answer for, the one thing that always calls to him, every year, like it _wants_ him to follow. He doesn’t know how else he’s ever going to be able to do that. “I need to see them. In person. I… I need to _know_.”

There’s a moment of silence before his father sets down his quill, closing the book over and fixing the metal clasp. 

“Dirk,” he says, slow and soft when he turns back to face him. “You _know_ why we stay up here.”

“Well _yes_ but-”

“I am _trying_ to keep you _safe_. You haven’t the first _idea_ how to survive out there.”

“I _know_ -”

Riggins sighs, moving to place his hands on his shoulders and look him over. 

“I suppose I knew this would happen some day, you’ve always been… _curious_ , that never changed. But Dirk… the world is-”

“A cruel place, I-”

“ _Yes_. The world is cruel, and it’s full of things you _barely_ understand. There are people out there who would hurt you. They have teeth and fists and knives and _swords_. You could get _sick_ , someone could take you, they could take your _gift_. You could be robbed, or poisoned. The animals are dangerous, the _plants_ are dangerous, and the people? Dirk, I _know_ you think you’re all grown up now but… I want to protect you. To keep you _safe_. The world is scary, it’s _bad_ , and it _hurts_ people like you. Up here you’re safe, _we’re_ safe.”

Dirk draws in on himself, trying his best to act like none of this bothers him despite the deep seated fear his father’s warnings are bringing up in him. He’s meant to be _determined_ , dammit. 

“It’s just-”

“What makes you think you’re ready to go outside, hm?” He sounds less kind now, more dismissive. “You’re _entirely_ unprepared. The people out there aren’t _like_ you, and you’re… you’re _young_ , and you’re naive, and you’re not _nearly_ strong, or clever, or brave enough to make it in the world on your own. I _know_ you’ve read about it in your books but I’m here to _protect_ you, Dirk. I love you, and you need to trust me to know what’s best for you because if you go out there and you get hurt… I don’t know _what_ I’d do. You’re not _made_ to be outside. You’re meant to stay here with me, where it’s _safe_.”

“And I _know_ that, I _do_ trust you. It’s just that I _want_ so _badly_ to just-”

“What? Get robbed? Kidnapped? Killed? Bitten by a snake and left to die alone in the forest? Starve to death because you can’t fend for yourself? You don’t even know _what_ you’re asking for Dirk, you’re not _ready_. You’ll _never_ be ready!”

“Maybe I’d be _ready_ if you didn’t _keep_ me up here!” He shouts, surprising even himself. The tears were already in his eyes though and it doesn’t take much to make them fall, shaking his head and drawing back into himself as he stutters over his apologies. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to… I know it’s not-” he chokes on his tears, unable to get the words out under his father's stony scrutiny, wanting nothing more than the comfort of one of his hugs but not daring to reach out for one lest he’s rejected. 

“If you go outside, you will get hurt. You will be lost, and alone, and you will probably end up dead. Is that what you want?” 

“No! No, that’s- I’m _sorry_. I didn’t mean-”

Riggins sighs, seemingly taking pity on him and opening his arms for a hug. As soon as he does Dirk throws himself into it, letting himself be held close. It’s familiar, _safe_ , and he wonders why he ever thought one trip outside would be worth losing _this_. 

“Dirk?” The warning in is voice is enough to make him look up, uncertain and questioning. “I have done my best to keep you safe. _Everything_ I do is to keep you safe.” Dirk nods his understanding, but the cold, disappointed look doesn’t quite leave his eyes. “Don’t you _ever_ ask to leave again. Do you understand?”

He sniffles, eyes welling up with tears yet again but this time he refuses to let them fall. “I understand.” 

It’s barely more than a whisper, but it’s enough to make Riggins sigh, running his fingers through Dirk’s hair in a soft, soothing motion. “I just want you to be safe, please don’t make that difficult.”

“I know, I’m sorry.” He clings a little tighter, relieved when he’s allowed to, but it’s not long before Riggins is pushing him back, flattening his hair back down from where it had been ruffled out of place. 

“I love you, but I have to go back out now, I just wanted to check in on you.” He tells him, brushing his tears off his cheeks with a soft smile. 

“I love you too.” Dirk promises, smiling back weakly and watching as his father collects up his things. 

“I’ll be back in time for dinner, your room had better be tidy by then.”

He nods, willing his jacket back into the rope and letting it down the side of the tower for Riggins to climb down. As he watches him go he wonders how he finds it so easy to go out into the world and not be afraid of it. He thinks it must just be that his father is far braver than he is, and tries to find it within himself to be grateful that he takes that risk so Dirk doesn’t have to, rather than just being scared that he won’t make it back when there’s so much that could go wrong.

***

Todd is starting to wish he’d had a plan he’d actually thought through. It’s not the first time he’s done something impulsive, but it’s certainly the most dangerous, something which, admittedly, hadn’t crossed his mind in the moment he’d decided to turn heel and run. 

He knows his way around the forests, even though he’d spent the past few years working in the castle, he’d grown up here with his sister, but even that instinctive knowledge turns out to be useless when he’s essentially running for his life. He has no doubt the palace guards will want to take him alive, but he also has no doubt that it doesn’t necessarily mean they _won’t_ take him dead either and as much as selling this damn crown would solve a lot of his problems, they’re not quite so bad that he actively wants to _die_. So, hopelessly lost in the forest it is. 

The undergrowth is thick and hard to traipse through, and Todd thinks he should be concerned about leaving a trail but he has no idea how to make sure he doesn’t, so he’s hoping it’s not as obvious as it seems. The captain of the guard isn’t one easily fooled though, and while he’s seen her around, like most people she doesn’t directly work with they’ve never really spoken. She has a reputation though, you don’t become captain of the guard for _nothing_ , and Todd has a feeling that she’s not going to be easily deterred by him brushing a few leaves back into place. 

Gordon and Dorian don’t have _nearly_ enough skills to actively track him through the forest, but he knows they’ll be following him as well, and with far far more murderous intent than the guards. He can’t keep running forever, his lungs are already on fire and his heart is pounding so hard he can hear the rush of blood in his ears. He needs to find somewhere to shelter, somewhere to _think_ , and _fast._ The sound of the palace horses is nowhere near as far off as he wants it to be, the hollering of the guards growing louder every second, and so Todd does the only thing he can think to do with the forest feeling like it’s growing smaller and smaller around him: he dives for the thickest patch of trees he can see hoping it will shelter him long enough that they’ll pass him by entirely. 

It’s just Todd’s luck that they happen to be sitting atop a really steep hill. 

He falls, catching himself on some stray vines and rolling rather impressively all the way to the bottom, hitting what feels like every tree and rock on the way down. It’s painful, and _loud_ , and somehow he’s managed to keep his satchel on through the entire thing. He checks for the crown, relieved to find it in there, and flops back onto the grass to try and catch his breath, groaning when the motion just highlights all the bruises he gained on his trip. Surprisingly, the sunlight he’d expected is blocked, bathing him in shadow rather than the warmth he’d been hoping for. Curiously, Todd turns his head, narrowing his eyes in confusion when they land on what looks like a very tall, very _old_ tower. 

“What the...”

He pulls himself to his feet, trying to work out how it’s even possible for such a big building to be hidden away so easily. He’d never come across it in all the time he’d spent here as a child, never even heard tales of a secret tower in the woods, which would have been far more plausible than _some_ of the stories he’d heard in his lifetime. It seems impossible that he wouldn’t have known, wouldn’t have at least _seen_ it before he’d fallen into the clearing. But... if _he_ didn’t see it then there’s a good chance nobody _else_ will either. For once today Todd might _actually_ have a plan. 

Unfortunately, as he discovers once he’s completed a lap of the tower base, there doesn’t appear to be any way in other than through the window at the top of the east side. He’d been hoping for a door, but then he supposes if there’s no way in there’s nobody up there, and far less chance they’d bother looking if they _did_ find this place. The wall is rocky enough to give him a good handhold when he tries, all those years of climbing trees may finally come in useful, and even though Todd hates the idea of it with every inch of his being he knows that right now he doesn’t have much choice. He’s not going to find shelter like this anywhere else in the forest, he’s certainly not going to find anywhere better hidden, and so even though he’s full of reluctance he grits his teeth and wills himself not to look down. 

It’s gruelling work. The tower is tall, and Todd is not. Every now and then he’ll slip a little and picture himself falling to his death, unable to tell how far he’s come when he refuses to look behind himself, but instead focusing his sights on the window ledge that’s creeping ever closer. It’s not like he was built for this either, the running had left him winded, but dragging himself up is making his arms ache in a way he’s never felt before, fingers growing numb and rubbed raw against the stone. He keeps going though, because he’s made his decision and Todd is nothing if not determined and also not ready to die. God, he really does make the _worst_ decisions. 

Bad life choices aside, when he _finally_ closes his hand around the window ledge the relief washes over him so strongly it’s almost enough to make him lose his grip. He manages to pull himself up that last bit though, making a rather ungraceful tumble down to the floor on the other side. _Safe_ , he thinks, closing his eyes and dropping his head against the wall for a moment. It’s only when the immediate adrenaline rush dies down that he realises something is _wrong_ , and he opens his eyes warily, taking in the room around him. 

It’s decorated, painted even. There are books on the shelves and logs in the fireplace, there’s a set of unwashed dishes sitting on a makeshift counter in the corner. The bed, he notes with no small amount of longing because a nap would be _fantastic_ right now, looks slept in. 

He rises to his feet, keeping a wary hand wrapped tight around the satchel strap as he turns towards what looks like a set of stairs, debating the merits of going up and seeing if there’s anyone there. He’d thought this place would be abandoned, derelict and falling apart, but it looks like someone _lives_ here, and has been living here for quite some time. 

It’s more than a little confusing, and enough to turn Todd’s relief into anxiety because he hadn’t planned at all on stumbling unannounced into someone’s home. The last thing he wants right now is company, the last thing he _needs_ is someone who could rat him out to the guards, especially if they’re offering a reward. It’s quiet though, almost suspiciously so, and Todd realises all of a sudden that there’s no way up other than the way he came, so if someone lives here there’s every chance that they are in fact here right now, and they just haven’t seen him yet. 

The last thought Todd has, is that if someone _does_ live here there’s every chance they’re going to be _very_ angry when they find him. Then, as if proving his suspicions correct, there’s a resounding _clang_ , a sharp, vibrant pain at the back of his head, and the world around him goes black. 

Dirk Gently stands, wide-eyed and brandishing a frying pan, looking down at the now unconscious intruder with no small amount of panic on his face, wondering what in the _hell_ he’s supposed to do now. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked this chapter please leave a comment! It's pretty much the only kind of payment I get for this so you know, that'd be cool of you <3


	3. Two

There’s a person on the floor.

There’s a person, lying face down on his floor. 

The first person Dirk has ever seen outside of pictures, other than his father, is lying, face down, asleep on his floor. Or, well, asleep wouldn’t be right, would it? Because asleep would mean a more natural means of unconsciousness, and Dirk is suddenly _very_ aware that the only cause of this unconsciousness is himself. And the frying pan he’s holding. 

He’s not sure if he should be proud of himself, but somewhere deep down he is. Because people are _dangerous_. People want to hurt him, kidnap him, _kill_ him, which makes it all the more scary that this one had gotten in here at all, never mind _how_ he’d managed to do that when Dirk _certainly_ hadn’t let him up. Only he hadn’t exactly seemed to _notice_ that Dirk was here, had he? He didn’t appear to be _looking_ for him, at least. But people lie too, they want to trick you so that they can hurt you, his father had warned him all about that. His father had warned him about a _lot_ of things. Although, if he’s being completely honest, the person on his floor certainly doesn’t _look_ like any of the dangerous things Riggins had warned him about. Like this, Dirk finds it very difficult to be particularly scared of him. He’s small, looks almost peaceful, and _surely_ nobody _that_ dangerous could be taken out so easily? 

Just as Dirk is deciding that he’s probably not a threat, at least not like this, the man moves, groaning in what he assumes is pain and confusion, and before he can feel any sympathy for him Dirk panics and hits him again. 

To his credit, he feels guilty immediately afterwards this time. 

“Okay. Okay this is… this is a _situation_ and I need… I need to do _something_.” He nods to himself, holding his frying pan protectively and staring wide eyed at the body. Oh _god_ what if he’s _killed_ him? 

“Any ideas?” he asks Mona, a little hysterically, watching as she flutters over to hover around his head. Dirk swallows heavily, following her guidance and still clutching his improvised weapon just to be safe. It takes him a second to roll him over, terrified he’s going to wake up when he does. He doesn’t, and somehow that only serves to make him feel _more_ nervous about the fact that he may be _dead_. What on earth is his father going to say if he has a _dead person_ in his room? What is he going to say about the fact that there’s a person here at _all_? He shakes that off for now, watching him carefully for the rise and fall of his chest, if he’s alive it might actually help him. 

He breathes his own sigh of relief when he realises that he’s breathing normally, finally daring to look up at his face now he’s sure he’s both not dead, and not going to be looking _back_ at him. Dirk hasn’t seen many people before. His father, himself in the mirror, and the illustrations in his books are about as far as his experience with human faces go. He can tell by the way his chest tightens when he sees him that this one is a nice one though, it’s definitely a face he’d be happy to look at for quite some time, maybe even paint if he had the chance, but even Dirk knows enough to know that painting him right now wouldn’t be the best use of his time, and it would probably lead to more questions. Regardless of how nice Dirk thinks his face is, he knows he can’t stay here. If Riggins comes back and sees him then he won’t get chance to explain that he clearly _can_ take care of himself. His father would undoubtedly devolve into a fit of anger or panic at the sight, and Dirk _knows_ that won’t be helpful to his argument. No, he definitely needs to hide him first, that way he can make his argument and _then_ bring in the proof. That’s what happened in the stories he read when the children managed to solve the mystery. Nobody ever believed _them_ either until they proved them wrong. 

The sun still isn’t too high in the sky, but he knows he doesn’t have long until his father gets back. Dirk isn’t exactly weak, but he’s certainly not the _strongest_ , and the mystery person is _rather_ heavy which is a surprise given his height. When it becomes obvious that picking him up won’t work, he settles for dragging him unceremoniously across the floor. 

“Sorry about this,” he winces when he manages to hit his head on the edge of the bed. “I’m just not sure where to put you, or what to do with you, or what my father is going to do when he finds out that you’re here.” Dirk sighs, looking between the body and the bed, debating whether or not leaving him in there would work, but eventually decides against it. He doesn’t think he could lift him high enough and besides, it’s not exactly _hidden_. There’s only really one place to put him. 

Mona hovers anxiously by his ear, chirping disapprovingly when it becomes obvious what he’s going to do. 

“Well I’d _love_ to hear if you have any better suggestions,” he huffs, exerted by the difficulty of forcing a heavy, uncooperative body into the relatively small space of his closet. She falls quiet after that, resting on his shoulder instead and he reaches up to pet her head with the tip of his finger when he gets a second. “Sorry. It’s just a _very_ stressful situation. I think this might work though, I mean, he can’t _possibly_ say I can’t look after myself when he sees this, can he?”

She doesn’t reply, but he forgets to worry about that when he _finally_ manages to get the door shut, propping a chair up under the handle to make sure it stays that way. 

“I hope he’s comfortable.” It’s doubtful, but with any luck he won’t wake up for a while and therefore won’t know any better. Dirk feels a little guilty, glancing over at the closed door every now and then while he fusses around his room, trying to tidy it up as much as possible for when his father gets back. The better mood he can put him in, the more likely he is to listen, and Dirk _needs_ him to listen. He’s just finishing up sweeping when he spots the bag by the window. He’d forgotten all about it until now, the one dropped by his surprise visitor when Dirk had knocked him out, but it’s enough to make him panic because if _anything_ is out of place Riggins is _going_ to notice. He scoops it up, fully intending to shove it out of sight in a pot, when it occurs to him that this might explain why the man climbed up here in the first place. 

He looks between the closet and the bag warily, biting at his lip as he considers the implications. On the one hand it doesn’t belong to him, and he knows that means he shouldn't look, knows it may well contain something private that the man doesn’t want anyone else to know about. But on the other hand it _could_ offer an explanation, it _could_ tell Dirk who he is or where he came from, and above anything else Dirk has _always_ been curious. Too curious for his own good, if his father is to be believed. 

Mona doesn’t seem to object, instead she seems just as intrigued if the way she flitters down from his shoulder to hover around the satchel is anything to go by. Dirk decides to take that as an indication that he’s made the right choice. 

He opens the bag slowly, careful in case there’s something in there that could jump out. He knows Riggins has a bag full of innocuous and harmless things he carries with him, but who _knows_ what kind of things other people may keep in their bags. Dangerous things, his mind supplies. Things that could hurt people. Things that could hurt _him_. 

Dirk doesn’t really _know_ what the thing in the bag is, but it doesn’t _look_ like it would hurt him. 

Instead it’s round, fairly heavy for its size but not so much that it seems unusual. It looks to be made of some kind of metal, gold he thinks his father had called it once, and when he pulls it out of the statchel it glitters, sunlight catching on the coloured glass it seems to have inlaid, sending tiny rainbows sparkling across the walls when he turns it in his hands. He’s never seen anything like it. 

“ _Oh_.” It escapes him without permission, suddenly aware somehow that he’s holding something _immeasurably_ precious in his hands, moreso than anything he’s held before in his life, other than perhaps his jacket. That’s different though, because that’s a part of him, and this is something else entirely. 

He passes his hand through the centre, just to see if it does anything, but if there was any danger in doing so it doesn’t have any immediate consequence. When he lets go, it hangs around his arm like some kind of bracelet he’s seen in the illustrations of people in his books. It’s too big for that though, he knows it would fall off if he tried to wear it that way, so he takes it off and looks at it again, inspecting the tiny details carved into the metal. 

“What do you think?” He asks Mona in a hushed whisper, knowing there’s _something_ that it reminds him of but not able to work out what. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it? Do you think father would...” He trails off, a sinking feeling in his gut telling him that his father likely wouldn’t approve of such things. He doesn’t want to know what he’d do with it if he found it. 

“Oh!” he yells suddenly, startling Mona and making her buzz in alarm. “Sorry! Sorry no it’s just… the _hats_! He wouldn’t like those either it’s- _look_.” He beckons her over to the mirror excitedly, waiting until he knows she can see before setting it delicately on top of his head. “Solved it! It’s a… hat. Of some sort. That’s _definitely_ where it goes!” He’s so caught up in the excitement of having worked it out that the minute he actually, properly _looks_ in the mirror to see what it looks like on him his reflection takes him by surprise. 

It fits _perfectly_ , resting atop his head like it’s always meant to be there, and he wonders if it _does_ have some magic after all, because it’s making him feel all sorts of peculiar things he’s never felt before. Not least that he never wants to take it off. Not only is it pretty, but it feels _right_ somehow to have it there. Like it suits him. Like it’s meant to…

“Dirk!”

The unexpected call of his name makes him jump, pulling the _thing_ from his head and shoving it back into the satchel which he dumps unceremoniously into a nearby pot. He’d all but forgotten about his father coming back, and tries to shake off the lingering strangeness of the moment he’d just found himself caught up in. He wonders briefly if he should ask his father about it, but something in his stomach tells him that it’s the kind of thing he should _never_ let him know about because if he _does_ he’ll never see it again.

“Coming! I’m coming!” He promises, tripping over his own feet in his haste to get to the window, shrugging off his jacket and willing it back into a rope as he loops it over the hook and sends it tumbling down below. 

Mona hovers by his head for a moment, sensing his nerves as he pulls on the rope. There’s every chance this could end very badly, but if he plays his cards right then maybe, just maybe, he might be able to prove to his father that he’s very much capable of handling himself, thank you very much. He doesn’t know what Riggins will do with the man in his closet once he knows he’s there, and he does feel a vague stab of fear about that, but he pushes that aside in favour of trying to pull himself together enough to make his point. 

He doesn’t have long to do it though, before he knows it Riggins is climbing over the the ledge and Dirk wills the rope back into his preferred jacket form. It settles itself over his shoulders and he curls his fingers into the sleeves for comfort. 

“I have a surprise for you!” he says rather quickly before his father can even say hello, not wanting to lose his opening. 

“Yes.” He says, shrugging off his cloak and setting his pack down on the table. “I noticed.”

“You…” Dirk frowns, looking back to the closet where said surprise is hiding. Contained? _Waiting_. Definitely waiting. “You did?”

“Cleaning your room is hardly a surprise when I’d already asked you to do it, although maybe it’s a surprise that it’s been _done_ ,” he sighs. “I shouldn’t have left before, but I accept your apology, and I have a surprise of my own.”

“I… that’s not _quite_ -” Dirk wrings his hands, wrongfooted. He doesn’t know where to start. Correcting his father _never_ goes down well, and he _especially_ can’t see telling him that he isn’t in fact apologising being a helpful segue into his _actual_ point. “I was just going to say that I’ve been thinking about what you said before and-”

“I hope you don’t mean the stars, because an apology usually means the conversation is _closed_.” Dirk recognises the warning tone, but he can’t let that stop him now, not if he wants to have a chance of convincing him that he’s more capable of looking out for himself than he thinks. He _knows_ he is.

“The _floating lights._ I know. But I was _thinking_ about it, and I know you think I’m not strong enough to handle myself out in the world but-”

“Oh, I _know_ you’re not strong enough to handle yourself out there,” he laughs. 

Dirk shakes his head, reaching towards the closet door. “But if you just let me-”

“ _Dirk_ , we are _not_ talking about this.”

“But I _know_ what I’m doing because-”

“Dirk-”

“If you’d just let me-”

“ _Dirk_.”

“Could you just _listen_ for a moment because I really think-”

“Enough about the lights! Enough about outside! You are staying here, and you had better get used to it, because you are _not_ leaving this tower! _Ever!_ ”

He stops, freezing in place, wide eyed and still reaching towards the door. In all the time he’s been here he can’t remember Riggins ever raising his voice at him, and that alone is enough to make him shrink back. But more than that is what he’d said, the fact that he’d so clearly _meant_ it. Dirk had always known he wasn’t meant to leave the tower, not now, not in the future, but somehow it had never really occurred to him that his father had meant _forever_. It’s not like Dirk had ever thought he’d be able to leave, but the realisation that it had never been a possibility, that it never _would_ be a possibility, that all his dreams of outside were for nothing, that he might never know what the grass feels like, what the floating lights are, if there are in fact stars on the other side of the tower, all comes crashing down on him at once. His chest feels tight, and for a moment he’s not sure he’s going to be able to catch his breath, but Riggins is still looking at him, angry and betrayed, and Dirk knows he needs to do _something_ to put it right. 

He drops his hand away from the closet door handle, knowing somewhere deep down that telling his father about the man would be a _very_ bad idea, possibly for both of them. Instead he wraps his arms around himself and drops his eyes to the floor, swallowing heavily. 

“I was just going to say,” he chances carefully, blinking back his tears. “That I think I know what I’d like for my birthday.”

“And _what_ is that?” He sounds disappointed and Dirk can’t bear it, he takes a step closer to him even though he knows he wouldn’t dare seek any kind of comfort right now. 

“New books? I’ve read all the ones I already have and… it would be nice to have some different stories.” More adventures he can never have, he thinks. The despair feels tangible now. 

Riggins sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose and leaving Dirk feeling guilty about causing another headache. He should have just left it alone. “Well that’s a _very_ long trip. I have to go across the river, it’ll take me almost three days, maybe more.”

“I know.” Dirk nods, trying not to feel too guilty about that either. “I just thought it would be a better idea than the… _stars_.”

There’s a long silence, one Dirk can’t bring himself to look up from the floor for the length of, feeling the weight of his fathers gaze. Eventually he sighs again, moving to cup Dirk’s cheek, tilting his head to get him to look at him. 

“Are you sure you’ll be alright on your own for that long?”

Dirk tries _very_ hard not to look back at the closet, instead repeating the one thing his father had sought to drill into him for so long. A peace offering of sorts. 

“As long as I’m in here I’ll be safe. Nobody will find me.”

The words lack the usual reassurance though, this time when he says them they weigh down his tongue, but Riggins doesn’t seem to notice. He opens his arms, and Dirk leans in. It eases some of his guilt, the hug being its own kind of forgiveness. 

“Just three days.” Riggins says, ruffling his hair as he pulls back. “I promise.”

Dirk nods, smiling weakly as his father goes to gather his things for the trip, and trying not to worry too much about the fact that the man in his closet could wake up any minute. 

He almost wishes he’d hit him harder. 

***

Or maybe he wishes he hadn’t hit him at all, because it turns out that wrangling an unconscious man into a chair is a _lot_ harder than he feels like it should be. 

By the time Dirk has managed to get him suitably tied up, disregarding the fact that he’s never _had_ to tie anyone up before and that he’s starting to wonder if he’d included many more bows than he strictly needed, he has to stop and catch his breath. Mona flutters around the room excitedly while Dirk sits down against the wall, just watching his captive for the moment. He has no idea why he’s here, but given his father’s warnings he thinks it’s probably best to start with assuming the worst. If this man has come to kill him he’s not doing a very good job so far, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t going to try again. It doesn’t mean he isn’t going to kidnap him, or poison him, or try and separate him from his magic. 

But then even Dirk, with his complete lack of experience in dealing with other people, has to admit that he certainly doesn’t _loo_ like a person who would try to kill someone. He thinks of the villains in the stories he reads, and tries to reconcile the images of them with this stranger. In comparison he appears somewhat soft, certainly _smaller_ than he might have expected, and almost… pretty? Dirk doesn’t have much frame of reference for such things, but there’s something about him that makes his chest feel a little like Mona is trapped in there, fluttering away.

Now isn’t the time for that though, and Dirk shakes his head as he pulls himself to his feet, dragging the man into the light with the leftover rope and clutching his frying pan to his chest. He has to be strong, he has to prove he can _do_ this. If not to his father then at least to himself, even if hiding in the shadows isn’t _exactly_ a great start to that. 

“Okay.” He whispers to Mona, nodding to himself and trying to prove he’s ready. “Wake him up.”

Mona takes her role _incredibly_ seriously of course, any best friend would, but that doesn’t make her come across any less delighted to squirt water in the face of their captive. 

She still darts away when he shrieks though. 

Todd will maintain for as long as he lives, that combining the high stress situation he was in before he made it to the tower with the way he wakes up _in_ the tower, means that complete and utter panic is a wholly justified response. 

“Wh- What the _hell_?” Is what he manages when he finally finds his voice, struggling against the rope as sheer terror fills his chest. Out of the frying pan into the fire doesn’t even _begin_ to cover the way he’s feeling right now as he casts his eyes desperately around the room, trying to find some kind of clue as to what is going on. “I- I have _no_ idea what’s going on here but I _swear_ I have _nothing_ to do with it. Just…” he frowns, suddenly distracted by his bonds, “is- is this rope _glowing_?” 

Dirk takes advantage of his momentary lapse to draw up as much courage as he can.

“Struggling… struggling is futile!” He declares from his hiding place. A little less certain than he wanted to sound, but definitely a good start. 

“Wha-”

“I know why you’re here!” Lie, but he has his suspicions and that’s what they always did in the books. Acted like they had all the answers. If this man is here to hurt him he needs to stay one step ahead of him and if he has to lie to do that then lying is what he’ll do. “I’m not afraid of you.”

“I-” Todd turns his head towards him then, still unable to see him in the shadows he’s hiding in but following his voice easily enough. The fact that whoever tied him up certainly _isn’t_ Gordon, Dorian, or the palace guard suddenly makes him feel far less terrified than he had been. The situation is still less than ideal, but the threat of immediate death seems further away than when he’d been rudely awoken, and it’s enough to leave him feeling more confused than frightened. “ _What_?”

Dirk takes his confusion in his stride, determined not to let him throw him off as he steps out into the light, clutching his frying pan like a weapon as he does so and trying his best to look somewhat intimidating. “Who are you?” he asks, heart beating a mile a minute as the stranger looks him over, seemingly assessing something even though Dirk can’t even begin to guess what. “And how did you find me? Or this tower, actually. It’s _very_ well hidden. You must be an explorer or something. An adventurer, perhaps? If you’ve come to kidnap me it isn’t going to work, in fact it rather much looks like _I’m_ the one who’s kidnapped _you_. Although I supposed I didn’t actually _take_ you from anywhere but-” he cuts himself off, curiosity and the promise of a captive audience enough to make his mouth run away with him and override his instinctive fear. It would seem that the man is in a similar position, only instead of curiosity he just seems bewildered, if the set of his eyebrows is anything to go by. And the look in his eyes. His _incredibly_ blue eyes. Dirk clears his throat and stands a little taller. “Answer the question.”

“I… What- _Which_ question?” He eyes the frying pan warily, making sure talking isn’t going to get him in more trouble. 

“Who _are_ you, and how did you _find_ me?” 

“Um.” Here’s where Todd feels himself starting to fumble. The situation is already quite bizarre, and yet oddly un-threatening. Despite the fact that he’s already been knocked unconscious by this guy, and honestly looking at him Todd has to wonder how that even _happened_ , the incessant rambling had done a lot to quell any feeling he’d had of an immediate threat to his life. Todd is pretty sure he could take him in a fight if he needed to, his captor doesn’t look like he’s ever fought anyone in his _life_ , and Todd may not be the most experienced fighter but he’s thrown himself into enough bar brawls to know he can land a few solid punches, which means that if he could just get out of this _rope_ he may stand a chance of getting out of here in one piece. The only problem remaining then is that bound as he is the only option left to him is talking, and it’s fair to say that that’s _not_ something Todd excels at. 

“I’m- My name is Todd? And…” he swallows, hoping to be reassuring as he shrugs in his bindings. “I mean... it was kind of an accident, I guess?”

Dirk frowns, confusion turning to suspicion as he advances on Todd and tries not to feel guilty about the way that seems to make him panic. “Who else knows where I am? _Why_ did you come here? How many more of you _are_ there?” He raises his weapon a little higher and Todd’s eyes go wide.

“ _Woah_ , okay, okay… man?”

“ _Dirk_.”

“ _Dirk_? Like… like the knife?”

He ponders this for a moment, eyes narrowing suspiciously before deciding it’s probably best to just roll with it. “ _Yes_. Because if you don’t talk I’ll… _knife_ you.”

“ _Knife_ me?” Todd frowns again, but this time he looks almost amused. It’s enough to make Dirk scowl and wield the pan in his direction. “Okay! Okay that’s- I get it! Calm down!”

“ _How did you find me_?” 

“It- It was an _accident_ , I swear! I wasn’t even looking for you I was-” Todd’s eyes widen even further, momentarily forgetting the threat of Dirk and his frying pan as he looks around the room almost frantically before turning back to Dirk. “Where’s my satchel?!”

The worry is evident in his voice, and Dirk tries his best not to look too pleased with himself. “I’ve _hidden_ it, and it’s somewhere you’ll _never_ find it, so if you want it back I suggest you… co-operate.”

“You- you can’t just _steal_ my stuff!” There’s a very small part of him that acknowledges the irony of such a statement, but given that his current situation seems more dire by the second he puts it aside to deal with later. 

“ _You_ can’t just break into hidden towers to steal, kill, or otherwise harm their unsuspecting residents!” Dirk retaliates. “In the grand scheme of things, temporarily relocating an item that _happens_ to be in your possession is very low on the list of potential crimes that may or may not be committed today.”

“Kill-” Todd hadn’t known his voice could even go that high. “I don’t want to kill _anyone_!”

Sure as he’d seemed a moment ago, Dirk finds himself suddenly wrongfooted. “You- you _don’t_?”

“No!” 

“You don’t want to kidnap me?” His eyes narrow suspiciously, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that he feels more confused than ever at the prospect that this… _Todd_ doesn’t seem to mean him any harm. “Take me away and sell me to someone? Use me to try and take over the kingdom?”

It helps a little that Todd looks just as confused by this turn of events as Dirk must. 

“Take over the- _How_ would you- No. You know what, never mind. I didn’t-” he sighs, shaking his head. “I didn’t come here to do _any_ of that. I didn’t even know you were _here_. I was just- There were people trying to steal my stuff and I needed a place to hide. It was an _accident_. I got lost.”

Dirk bites his lip, hugging the pan to his chest rather than wielding it now, trying to make some sense of the situation.

“You… you didn’t know I was here?” His voice is softer now, and Todd seems to relax when he hears it. 

“I swear, I had no idea.”

“And you don’t-” he swallows, looking away. “You were telling the truth? About the… _not_ wanting to kill me?”

Todd shrugs, wondering if the developments of the last five minutes count as far as coming to the tower with murderous intent goes. If he wasn’t feeling it before, he might have a slight taste for it now. “I _just_ want to get out of here.”

For a long moment Dirk just stares at him, feeling almost foolish for suggesting he might have wanted to hurt him. He’s still unsure though, because trusting a stranger seems equally as foolish, especially one from the _outside_. But if Todd is from the outside… 

His eyes track to the wall behind him, where he’d recently re-painted the lights. It feels like _something_ , like maybe Todd is an answer to his wish, like _maybe_ the stars _had_ aligned in his favour, just this once. It couldn’t hurt, could it? His father is gone for three days at the least, and nobody has found his tower for as long as he’d lived here. Why now? Why would everything line up like that if not for some kind of _reason_? Mona chirps next to his ear, like she knows what he’s thinking, but she doesn’t appear to be disapproving of the idea. It’s worth a shot, Dirk thinks. It’s not like he’s ever going to get another chance, he may as well at least see if the one he _has_ been given will work out. 

“Wh- Hey, what are you-” Todd protests when he turns the chair around, but seems to catch on that Dirk isn’t doing anything nefarious quickly enough. 

“Do you know what these are?” He gestures at the painting, heart is racing with the knowledge that if Todd says no all his dreams could be shattered.

For a moment Todd just frowns, glancing between Dirk and the painting before deciding it’s not some kind of ploy. When he finally looks at it properly he finds himself tilting his head in curiosity. 

“What, you mean the lanterns?” He asks, uncertain. “For the prince?” 

“ _Lanterns._ ” Dirk breathes, a giddy rush of hope welling up in his chest. “I _knew_ they weren’t stars!” He can’t possibly stop the grin that lights up his face, despite his best efforts to appear serious as his plan starts to develop and he doesn’t give himself more than a minute to think it through, far too caught up in this new revelation to even _think_ about doubting the idea. “Well, tomorrow night as I’m sure you know, these… _lanterns_ will light up the whole sky, and it’s the most _amazing_ thing I’ve ever seen, probably just the most amazing thing _ever_ , actually. So here’s my deal, _Todd_ , if that _is_ your real name.”

Todd frowns, “I-”

“Acting as my guide, you will take me to these… _lanterns_ , and bring me back here safely. _Then_ , when our mission is complete, I will _give_ you your satchel back, and we’ll both be happy!”

Todd stares, eyes flickering between Dirk and the painting again for a few long moments before declaring flatly; “Yeah, no. That’s not gonna happen.” 

The smile slides off of Dirk’s face, muddling through confusion and settling into something like frustration as Todd continues to talk. 

“Look. The kingdom is really… _not_ a place I want to be right now. I’m sorry, but taking you there would, well, it would be _really_ bad for me and I don’t-”

“ _No_.” Dirk cuts him off, tugging on the rope to pull him closer and feeling for the first time in his life that he absolutely _has_ to put his foot down on this. “Something _brought_ you here, I _know_ it did. Maybe you can’t feel it, maybe you just don’t _want_ to, but this? This is the most important thing _ever_ , and whatever it is, fate, or luck, or destiny, it brought you here _now_ , at the _only_ time this could _possibly_ happen. So, I have made the decision to trust you-”

“Not a great decision,” Todd interrupts, looking at least a little more intimidated than he did before, enough to spur Dirk on at least. 

“So you are _going_ to take me to see the lights, because if you _don’t_ , I can promise you that you will _never_ find your satchel here. Even if you take the tower apart brick by brick, which would take an awfully long time and to be honest I’m not sure is even _possible_ , you won’t find it. You _can’t_ find it. So if you want it back, we’re _going_ to see them.”

He’s not sure where the surge of determination came from, but he holds onto it as much as he can while he holds Todd’s gaze, doing his best to stare him down while he feels like his whole world hangs in the balance. 

If Todd still says no, Dirk thinks it might be enough to crush him. 

“If…” Todd swallows heavily, clearly not liking the situation. “If I take you to see them, you’ll give it back?” He sounds unsure, but vaguely hopeful, and that’s enough to give Dirk some of his own hope back. 

“I _promise_ , and promises are _really_ important. I would _never_ break one. Ever.” He presses his hand over his heart as if to drive the point home.

Todd watches him for a second, eyes trailing over Dirk’s shoulder to look at the painted lanterns as he considers it. It’s not the best idea, it might even be the _worst_ idea, but realistically what other choice does he have? Now he’s double crossed Gordon and Dorian they’ll be out for his head, so will the palace guards. It’s not worth going through all that to not even have the crown to show for it at the end. And it’s only two days, one day there, one day back, the kingdom will be filled with visitors for the lighting of the lanterns, there’s no better time to go and not be spotted. 

Two days, and then he can fix everything. 

“Fine,” he says, resigned and stubborn with it but agreeing all the same. “I’ll take you to see the lanterns.”

“Wh- _Really_? Oh my-! I _so_ thought that wasn’t going to work! This is the best thing that’s _ever_ happened to me! This is- Todd!” Dirk’s smile is so big Todd is sure it’s going to take over his face, paired with the way his eyes are shining with nothing less than unbridled joy he’s starting to look _more_ than a little manic. “This is going to be the _best_ adventure _ever!_ ”

His giddy enthusiasm isn’t catching, at least not for Todd who tries his best to see the positives in this situation, if there even are any. He considered asking Dirk to untie him, but he seems far too excitable for that right now and eventually he decides it’s probably best to let him calm down a little before he tries to work out how this is even going to _work_. If there’s one thing Todd is good at it’s having _doubts_. 

Right now though all he manage to do is look from Dirk’s face back to the lanterns on the wall behind him, and promise himself it’ll be worth it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked this chapter please leave a comment! It's pretty much the only kind of payment I get for this so you know, that'd be cool of you <3


	4. Three

It’s not the first time Dirk has ever peered over the edge of the window ledge, but it’s the first time he’s ever felt this nervous about it. 

He’s watching Todd make his way down the rope somewhat warily. He’s been muttering to himself every since he started his descent, but it doesn’t take too long for him to reach the ground, he seems far happier once he does. Dirk knows he should follow, that he should already _be_ following, but instead he just stares, hanging onto the rope as he stands on the sill and tries not to panic. 

“Are you coming?” Todd calls up, hands on his hips and seemingly irritated by Dirk’s indecision. Mona chirps in his ear, fluttering back and forth over the ledge, but all Dirk can do is look out over the seemingly endless forest, and wonder if there’s even more beyond that he’s yet to see. 

“I- Yes! Yes I’ll be there I just-!” 

He needs a moment, or maybe five. A lifetime should be long enough but the world is so big outside of his tower, so vast and unknown and _dangerous_. But it’s also open and green and _free,_ calling to him, enticing him out. It shouldn’t be wrong, he thinks, to want to know what that freedom feels like. It’s not the lack of desire holding him back, that much is for certain, he’s wanted to step foot outside as long as he can remember, only… his father had dedicated his life to making sure he was safe up here. To making sure nobody could hurt him. Was it wrong to throw that back in his face just to know what it was like to be outside? There are so many ways this could go badly, so many things that could scare him, that could _hurt_ him. Hell, he can only trust _Todd_ because he has something he wants, and Todd doesn’t seem to know about the _other_ thing people would want from him. There’s nothing to say he won’t hurt him after this whole thing is over. There’s nothing to say this isn’t all part of a plan to kidnap him away anyway. There’s nothing to say Dirk isn’t every bit as unprepared to be outside and naive to want to be as his father always says he is. His father is clever after all, and far more experienced in these things than he is. He wants to keep him safe, and he _knows_ how much it would hurt him if he knew Dirk was even _thinking_ about betraying him like this. 

And _yet_. 

He glances back at his room, eyes drawn to the lights, the _lanterns_ Todd had called them, and he can’t fight the aching in his chest. 

It’s going to be a few days, he’ll be back before Riggins even knows he’s gone. Dirk knows his father, knows he won’t get another chance like this, and he _knows_ without a doubt that his desire to see the lights themselves is only going to keep growing. Staying here might be safe, but going out there could be _everything_ , and it only takes the sinking, horrible fear of never being able to leave to give him enough courage to do what he’s always wanted to. 

With how much he’s thought about how hard it will be to leave over the years, descending the rope is easier than it should be. Dirk knows part of that is because it’s also a part of him, but deep down he thinks it shows just how desperate he is to get outside. He stops before he hits the ground though, surveying the grass underneath him. He’s never seen it so close before, all tiny little leaves instead of one great swathe of green, and for a minute all he can do is stare. 

Then he falls face first into it, ignoring the shock that sends through his body in favour of rolling onto his back to look at the sky and running his fingers through the blades of grass below him. 

“It’s soft!” Is the first thing he notes, excited as he pets through it. “It’s like… hair! Only green, and kind of _wet_? And _oh_ , look! The sky really _does_ go on forever! I always wondered if it did that! There are _clouds_ over there! And… what’s that?” He points at a looming shadow of _something_ beyond the tower, the side he’s never seen before, watching Todd expectantly. 

Todd is watching him back, seemingly torn between frustration, confusion, and amusement, but Dirk ignores all that because for once in his life when he asks he _actually_ gets an answer. 

“It’s a mountain.” Todd tells him, frowning slightly as he takes him in, glancing back to the tower for a moment like he’s looking for something. “Where did the jacket come from?”

“I _always_ have my jacket, Todd,” he rolls his eyes. Like that could _possibly_ be important right now. “A _mountain_. Is it always there? Has it always _been_ there? How _old_ is the mountain? Can we go to the mountain, or will it… _eat_ us? Will we _die_ on the mountain?”

“Will the mountain-” Todd’s eyebrows do a sort of _wiggly_ thing that Dirk decides immediately is his favourite thing about him. He sighs heavily. “We can’t go to the mountain if you want to see the lights, the kingdom’s this way.” He points up into the ring of trees Dirk had always assumed was somewhat impenetrable seeing that his father was the only one he’d ever seen make it through. He hadn’t thought about how Todd had gotten through it. 

“Right!” Dirk draws himself up, pulling his jacket a little closer and finding Mona, now a little mouse, huddled in the pocket. It’s reassuring to have her with him. “Yes, of course! I knew that, I was just… testing you.”

“ _Sure_.” Todd doesn’t sound much like he believes him, but he inclines his head towards the trees anway. “We’d better get going, don’t want to lose daylight.”

It hardly takes much convincing for him to follow as Todd leads the way, and if he holds his breath as he takes his first step into the trees, that’s nobody's business but his own.

***

“I am a _terrible_ person.”

They’ve been walking for over an hour now, and it’s not the first time Dirk has reached this conclusion. In fact he rather seems to be working himself in circles, and so far Todd hasn’t been much in the way of help. 

“Is this the best day ever? _Yes_. Is this something I’ve wanted to do for _literal_ years? _Also_ yes. But is this the absolute _worst_ thing I could _ever_ do? I mean… it’s not the _best_ thing, is it? And it’s not- it’s not _good_ , and I’m breaking the _one-_ well, _nearly_ one, or at least the most _important_ rule which certainly _seems_ like a bad thing. But then that rule _was_ to keep me safe, and I _do_ have you here, although I suppose you _could_ kill me and dump my body and I’ll never be found but really what a _waste_ that would be with all the _other_ things you could do with me-”

Todd chokes on his water, coughing somewhat violently as he stares at Dirk like he’s just said something _entirely_ incomprehensible, and as much as Dirk would _love_ to work out what he’d said that was so bad he’s rather more preoccupied with the fact that it almost seems like Todd is _dying_. 

“Oh god. Oh no, you can’t _die_ on me! Todd! What a _ridiculous_ circumstance we’d find ourselves in then!” He panics, not being particularly helpful as Todd keeps coughing instead of _breathing_ like a normal person is supposed to do. “What should I do? Can I help? Is this… a _thing_? Do you normally do this? Do _people_ normally do this? Oh. Oh no is it- have you been _poisoned_?”

“Do- Do you _ever_ stop talking?” Todd gasps once the coughing fit seems to have dissipated. “I’m not _dying_ I just… drank wrong. Here.” 

He holds the bottle out to him and Dirk eyes it suspiciously. He _is_ rather thirsty though, and he has _no_ idea if or when he’ll get another chance. Mostly he’d relied on his father for food and water and on occasion that hadn’t come _quite_ as often as he’d have liked. Dirk takes the bottle from him hesitantly, before deciding that if Todd isn’t _dead_ it can’t be _that_ bad. 

“It’s just water,” he says after taking a drink, a little confused as he hands it back to Todd. 

“I- _yeah_ ,” he struggles with the stopper for a moment, “what did you think it was going to be?”

“Well I don’t know, but _you_ had rather a dramatic reaction to it!” 

Dirk huffs, crossing his arms over his chest, and Todd regards him with some kind of reserved amusement. 

“You don’t spend much time around other people, do you?” 

It’s enough to make Dirk narrow his eyes at him, trying his best not to pout at the teasing. “Only my father,” he snaps back, irritation turning to guilt at the reminder. “Who’s going to _hate_ me now.”

Todd hums, leading them down a sunny pathway through the trees. He finds himself missing the woods sometimes, the kingdom was all good and well, but there was nothing _quite_ like whiling the hours away in the forest when he had nothing better to do. Before everything had gone to shit. 

“You’ve got to rebel at _some_ point,” he tells him, trying his best to _not_ be reassuring. “And you seem like you’re pretty overdue.”

“It’s not _rebelling_ , it’s-” Dirk runs a frustrated hand through his hair, and really he should be _enjoying_ this. The _outside_ , but even now his thoughts keep drifting back to the tower and he can _feel_ the tears welling up in his eyes. “Outside is _dangerous_. Everything is dangerous! He _always_ kept me safe and he _never_ asked me for _anything_ in return, just that I stay there and not get hurt, and _now_ look at me! If he finds out about this it… it will _break_ his _heart_ and it will all be my fault!”

Todd doesn’t pause, doesn’t reply for the longest moment as they traipse through the flowers, and Dirk starts to wonder if he’s even been listening. 

“You could always go back.”

It’s not that he’s necessarily _trying_ to encourage him to give up on this whole affair, but it would be _awfully_ convenient if he did. Dirk could go back home, Todd could get his satchel back, and they could both go on like none of this ever happened. It would certainly be _quieter_ that’s for sure. 

“ _What_?” 

Whatever he’d been expecting, the amount of disbelief in Dirk’s voice wasn’t it. Todd swallows heavily, casting him a sideways glance as he shrugs his shoulders. “Well. You know, if you feel _that_ bad about it, we could just turn around and go back? It’s not like we’ve even been gone a whole day yet, it wouldn’t be hard.”

Dirk stops dead in his tracks, and for the first time since they left the tower, perhaps even before that, Todd thinks he looks _angry_. 

“I am _not_ going back,” he insists. “I can’t _believe_ I did this, but it’s done now, and I am _not_ going through all of _this-”_ he waves his arms around as if to indicate what _this_ might be, “-just to turn back without even _seeing_ the lights! _Yes_ , maybe it’s dangerous and terrifying out here, and _yes_ maybe it’s the worst thing I ever could have done, but I’ve already _done_ it now, so I may as well _keep_ going, and hope we get back before my father does. That way at least what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him, and we can all just… pretend it never happened.”

It seems like an impossible idea, and frankly a rather _depressing_ one, to go back there after even just a few hours of this. But if that’s the way it has to be then he’s certainly not leaving without at _least_ doing the thing he set out to do. Seeing the lights will be _worth_ whatever comes after it, he _knows_ it will. It _has_ to be.

“ _Fine_.” Todd huffs, somewhat grumpy as he starts walking again, leaving Dirk scrambling to catch up as he takes a sharp left onto a small dirt path, seemingly with somewhere in mind. “But don’t say I didn’t _warn_ you.”

It becomes rather obvious where Todd was intending to lead them as the path slowly gives way to a small clearing, a cozy looking building sitting tucked away among the trees. 

“The Snuggly Duckling?” Dirk asks, peering inquisitively at the sign before spotting something nailed to the sign post. There’s a cluster of wanted posters sitting there, all offering various rewards. None of them look like people Dirk would ever want to meet, and he’s _more_ than happy to leave them alone and move on, until one of them catches his eye. “Hey- isn’t this _you_?”

Todd frowns, snatching the paper from his hands and rolling his eyes at it. “Well that’s just _great,_ ” he huffs, balling it up as if to throw it away before thinking better of it and shoving it into his pocket. “ _Toad_ ,” he mutters to himself, “idiots can’t even spell my name right.”

Dirk wants to ask what he means, but Todd is stomping off towards the door before he can and he figures it’s probably best to follow. As they get closer though, Dirk finds himself growing wary. There’s a _lot_ of noise coming from the inside, smashing, yelling, _throwing_ type noise. He’s not _entirely_ sure he wants to get involved. 

“Todd,” he asks quietly. “Are you sure this is the right place?”

To his credit, Todd himself looks rather resigned at the thought of entering the establishment, which doesn’t do much to assuage Dirk’s worry. “If you’re hungry then yeah, there’s nowhere else for miles.”

Dirk doesn’t have any idea how long a mile is, but the way Todd says it certainly makes it _sound_ like a long way, and Todd is right to assume he’s hungry. He doesn’t get much say in the matter in the end though, because before he can offer his input, Todd pushes the door open with a resounding creak, and the din inside grows so loud Dirk thinks about turning tail and running. 

That is of course, until it drops into a suspicious, _deafening_ silence when they all catch sight of them. It’s safe to say Dirk does _not_ feel reassured.

***

Farah Black knows every street, every alley, every _corner_ of the city she is tasked with guarding, she knows the palace inside and out better than she knows the back of her own hand, she knows the movements of the guards, the weak points should they be attacked, and above all else she _knows_ that allowing someone to steal the crown from _right_ under her nose is _not_ something _Todd Brotzman_ is going to get away with. 

Despite all of that, the forest is not a place she knows well. 

She _could_ of course, given the same amount of time she’d had to study the city, and the same amount of training out there. She could map her way around every river, rock, and tree in this place and never forget it. It’s just that she hasn’t _had_ to be out here in such a long time that her knowledge of the woods isn’t as foolproof as it once was. Mostly because if Farah is leading the charge, the suspect never manages to make it out of the city. 

“I should have taken that shift _myself_.” She mutters to herself, sword drawn as she makes her way through the unforgiving tree-line. “Useless, no good- what kind of guard lets a _serving boy_ outwit them? Unless... maybe he isn’t a serving boy at all, maybe he’s a _spy_ , but-no. No, I vetted them all myself. This is just- I try to take _one_ day off and now this? _Unbelievable_.”

It’s unprofessional to talk to herself, _especially_ to be complaining about the proficiency of her guardsmen, but this whole _situation_ is unprofessional, and she’ll be _damned_ if she lets this become a glaring stain on her perfect record. She just needs to _find_ him first. 

She stops for a moment, looking around to get her bearings and try to make some kind of plan when tracking him will only work if she can pick up a trace in the first place. She _knows_ he came down this way, but she’d lost that track a way back, unsure if she should forge ahead, or go back to where she’d last had it and try a different route. 

It’s frustrating, but not enough that she can be caught off guard, and so when a rustling sounds in the bushes she wastes no time in brandishing her sword, pulling herself up to full height as she speaks. 

“Show yourself.”

It would be fantastic if her life could be made easy for once, but the man who appears from behind the foliage is certainly _not_ the one she’s looking for. Still, she’s not foolish enough to turn down a potential witness, especially not when they appear as harmless as the older man standing before her. 

“My apologies Ma’am.” He says, holding his hands up to show he’s unarmed, or at least not in a way that’s an immediate threat to her. “It’s been a long time since we’ve seen palace guards in these parts.” 

Scott would be lying if he said the sight of her didn’t scare him, especially this far out, and the only thing on his mind right now is running back to the tower to see if Dirk is safe. Logically he knows he must be, if she’s here then the tower hasn’t been breached by the guards, and even then in order to do that they’d have to _find_ it first, but that doesn’t mean what brought her out here wasn’t a threat, and if that’s the case it’s in his best interests to get through this as smoothly as possible. 

“Yes, well, the situation at hand requires our presence, and until we’ve apprehended our suspect I imagine you’ll be seeing more of us. Do you mind if I ask where you’re headed?”

“Oh,” Riggins scrambles for a moment, trying to come up with a convincing lie. “Just down to the river, the blackberries are coming in and I like to pick my own before they get scavenged by the children.” 

If she suspects he’s not telling the truth, she doesn’t give it away. Instead she reaches into her leather satchel and pulls out a wanted poster. It declares Todd Brontzman to be a thief, wanted dead or alive, and while a thief is better than a murderer it doesn’t bode well for the safety of his own hidden treasure. 

“Have you seen this man?” she asks, handing the paper over to him. “His name is Todd _Brotzman_ ,” because apparently her staff can’t even get the _spelling_ correct, “he’s wanted for crimes against the crown.”

Riggins tries not to let the surprise show on his face. “It says theft, crimes against the crown sounds a lot more serious than that?”

“He stole something of _immeasurable_ value to the King and Queen, and as such there is a reward of _equal_ value on offer for anyone who has any information which may lead to an arrest.”

Money would have tempted him once, it still does a little if he’s being completely honest, but he has something _far_ more valuable of his own that he needs to check on, and the worry is enough to have him handing the paper back to her. 

“I’m sorry, I haven’t seen anyone on my way down here. There’s an inn not too far from here though, if you follow the main path down. Plenty of people passing through there, so someone might have seen something.”

It seems enough to satisfy her, reaching out to shake his hand. “If you do see anything, send a note back to the castle. Thank you though, for the advice, and good luck with your… blackberries?”

He nods, more eager than ever to run back home but not stupid enough to try _just_ yet. “And you with your search, I’ve no doubt you’ll find him in the end.”

She smiles and inclines her head, but to Scott’s relief doesn’t draw the goodbye out. Instead she turns back to the path, head held high and looking rather determined about it. He doesn’t doubt that she _will_ find him, the Captain of the Palace Guard has _quite_ the reputation, and that only serves to fill him with more fear at the realisation that the man she’s looking for has actually made it this far. 

He waits until she’s out of sight, and then just a little longer, before turning tail and running back in the direction he came from. 

The tower feels further away than he knows it is, panic growing in his chest with every step and warping his ability to work out how far he’s travelled already against how far he has yet to go. By the time he makes it back to the tower he’s out of breath enough that it takes him a moment to call out. 

“Dirk!” 

It’s not the first time he hasn’t replied straight away, but it’s certainly the first time that’s filled him with fear rather than frustration. 

“ _Dirk!_ ” 

This silence is more deafening than the last, one step closer to confirming the _incomprehensible_ idea that he might be _gone_. Taken. _Stolen_ , or something far, _far_ worse that he doesn’t want to contemplate. 

In his panic he pulls out the rusted set of keys he hasn’t used since he first brought him here, pulling aside the thick brambles that have grown over the long forgotten door at the back of the tower. When he manages to wrench it open at last he races up the stairs, straining against the rusted over hinges of the trapdoor, until _finally_ the stone above it gives way. 

The room is empty. 

The room is empty, and Dirk is _gone_. 

He checks the bed just to be sure, the closet, the kitchen, pulling his books off the shelves just in case there’s _some_ indication of where he went. Any signs of a potential struggle are lost as he turns the room upside down, tearing it apart under the faux hope that he’ll find him, masking a far darker, far _stronger_ well of anger that flares up in him at the thought of him having left. 

He wouldn’t leave, he wouldn’t _dare_ , not after all the work Scott had put into keeping him safe. He must have been taken, but how would anyone _know_? Scott is the only one who knows what Dirk is, what he can be used for, _how_ to utilise that power. Even Dirk doesn’t know where it came from, or just how strong it _could_ be, and he really can’t see any _other_ reason someone would want to take him. Unless… 

Something catches his eye, glinting in an overturned pot like it had been hidden there, and his heart races as he reaches in to pull it out. 

As soon as he sees the crown he drops it like he’s been burned. 

Dirk may not know the truth about his power, but he at least knows of its existence. This? Who he is? Where he came from? _This_ is the one thing he can _never_ know. The one thing Riggins had _always_ sought to keep from him. The one thing that could ruin _everything_. 

In that moment it becomes clear to him that no matter the reason for Dirk’s leaving the tower, he _has_ to bring him back. 

***

Dirk immediately tightens his grip on his frying pan. 

There’s very little to be said for the mish-mash of people inside, but _safe_ certainly isn’t a word that springs to mind, what _does_ spring to mind is the memory of his father warning him about the types of people he’d find outside the tower. Ruffians, thugs, thieves, _murderers._ Vicious bloodthirsty gangs intent on violence and mayhem and very little else. Exactly the type of people who would take him and kill him, or sell him, or _use_ him if they found out about his secret, and not at _all_ the type of people he wants to be in a room with. Even Mona has gone quiet, huddled close to his body inside his jacket pocket and that’s enough to worry him because if _she_ can sense it then there’s _definitely_ something bad. He’s sure of it. What he’s _not_ sure of, is why Todd brought them _here_ of all places. 

Interestingly enough, when he glances away from the rabble for the briefest second to look at Todd, he doesn’t seem too thrilled about it either. He steels himself anyway though, and before Dirk knows it he’s got a hand around his wrist and Todd’s pulling him inside. 

Nearly every person in the place turns to look at them as he walks in, and Dirk may not know much about normal human interactions but from the distinctly uncomfortable feeling it gives him he’s sure this isn’t one of them. A surety that’s only made _more_ certain, when one of the men sat at the table closest to the fire rises slowly to his feet and stares Todd down with all the predatory focus of a wolf watching a rabbit.

“You sure got nerve comin’ back here, boy.”

His voice is low, gravelly, nothing like Dirk has ever heard before, but more than enough for the words to make him shrink back even though they aren’t directed at him. Todd just holds his hands up, and Dirk thinks it’s rather valiant of him to be standing his ground. 

“I’m not here to cause any trouble.”

“That so?” He smirks, looking around before leaning in closer. “‘Cause last I hear, you landed yourself in a whole _world_ of trouble.”

“ _Bad_ trouble,” one of the other men interjects. 

“ _Real_ bad trouble,” a third pipes up, rocking his chair back onto two legs and balancing his feet on the edge of the table. 

A fourth, certainly younger but no less wild looking, giggles and shows off his teeth. “Big bosses want to cut your head off!”

Todd swallows, holding his hands up in front of him and stammering over his words. “I- I _know_ that but it’s just- it’s a lot more _complicated_ than it looks and-” 

He’s interrupted suddenly by another voice, and it takes Dirk a moment to spot who the speaker _is_. Lurking in a dark corner is a man with the coldest eyes Dirk has ever seen, turning his knife over and over in his hands. 

“I say we let ‘em.” He drags his eyes over Todd, slow and considering as he tilts his head. “Poster says wanted dead _or_ alive, they ain’t picky, neither am I. Boy’s got a _lotta_ money restin’ on his head. Nobody in here need money like that?”

A quiet murmur goes around the inn, and Dirk finds himself stepping closer to Todd on instinct and clutching his pan as tightly as he can. There’s something off about the man that Dirk doesn’t like at _all_ , if the others had made him uncomfortable, this one was downright _distressing._

“We all know you ain’t interested in _money_ , Oz.” 

It’s the first man again, the one Dirk is fairly sure is some kind of leader, and if the way his words are enough to make the patrons who’d been eyeing Todd up with some interest look away, he’s not entirely wrong. 

“Maybe, maybe not.” The man, _Oz_ , shrugs and grins at them. “Nothin’ wrong with a bit of sport though. I say we let him run, see how far he gets before we can catch up. They’ll pay just as much for a body, bet they might pay somethin’ for that one too.”

His eyes slide over to Dirk, who shrinks back and holds the pan out in his direction. He’s so focused on not taking his eyes off the man that he doesn’t notice that the others have moved, until somebody behind him whistles, and suddenly the three others jump on the man, brandishing clubs and swords from who _knows_ where, and startling Dirk enough that he yelps and dives under the nearest table. 

A lot of the fight is lost to him as he hides away from the ruckus, but it doesn’t take long before Todd is scrambling under the table next to him, hugging his knees to his chest. 

“Do… do you _know_ these… _gentlemen_?” Dirk asks, no small note of distress in his voice as he flinches away from a flagon that’s sent clattering to the ground. 

“Something like that,” Todd nods, sounding a little hysterical. “They weren’t _exactly_ who I was looking for, I was-”

“Heyyyyy, Todd Brotzman! Knew I could smell something!”

Dirk turns disbelievingly to the newcomer, a blonde woman who appears to be hanging upside down on the table to peer below it. Todd, it seems, is relatively unsurprised. 

“Tina!” Scratch unsurprised, he sounds almost _relieved_. “Tina do you know where Amanda is? I need to talk to her.”

“You not gonna introduce me to your _friend_?” She asks, wiggling her eyebrows and winking at Dirk. He finds himself clutching his jacket closed around his neck for some reason he can’t really fathom, but certainly feels appropriate. 

“I’m-”

“ _No_ ,” Todd interrupts, side eyeing him viciously. “Just- I _need_ to talk to Amanda. Where is she?”

“Mmm, she’s not here. Went out a few hours ago, no idea where. Oh, hey! Nobody’s watching the taps! I’ll be right back!” 

“No, Tina-!” But she’s already gone before Todd can finish calling her name, and _just_ as Dirk is about to complain about how _rude_ Todd was to not even let him _introduce_ himself, someone reaches under the table and drags Todd out by the arm. 

Understandably, Todd yelps. _Less_ understandably, Dirk finds himself _so_ fed up he decides the _only_ course of action is to _follow_ him. 

“Put him _down!_ ”

It’s not loud enough to stop all the fighting, the group of men from earlier seem rather engaged in their task of throwing the scariest man Dirk has ever met out of the bar and slamming the door shut in his face, and there are more than a few minor scuffles going on. The people closest turn to look at him though, and Dirk finds himself brandishing his pan in their direction, heart racing as he stares at the man who has hold of Todd. 

“Uh,” he stares at Dirk for a long moment before looking down at where Todd is struggling ineffectively against the hold he has on his arms. “Like, do you _know_ how much money he’s worth? You could buy… a _horse._ Or a house. Or like, _two_ houses.”

“I don’t _need_ a horse! Or a house! Or _two_ houses! I need _him!”_ Dirk huffs, brandishing his pan less like a weapon and more like an extension of his own arm as he gestures wildly around. “I don’t know where I am and I’m the farthest away from home I’ve _ever_ been! I think my father might hate me now, and frankly this whole day has been _incredibly_ stressful in _so_ many ways, but I _need_ you to- I’m sorry, what’s your name?”

“Uh… Hugo?” 

“ _Hugo_ ,” he starts, and if he wasn’t so intent on talking him down he might feel a little sympathetic for how confused the man looks. “This man, Todd, is absolutely _vital_ to my quest. I am on a journey, a _mission_ , to do the one thing I’ve _always_ wanted to do. Todd is taking me to see the floating lights, and he’s actually my _only_ hope of getting there, _and_ getting home, so if you _kill_ him I’ll just be… stuck here. I’ll never get home, I’ll never get to see my father again, and I’ll never… I’ll _never_ get to see the lights and that’s… haven’t you ever wanted anything so badly it’s the _most_ important thing in the world?”

Hugo frowns in confusion, and Dirk worries for a moment that he’s going to cause himself actual harm from thinking too hard. “Not… really? Unless- Oh! One time, I saw this like, _giant_ house? It had these spikes and flags and everything? And that was pretty cool.”

Dirk blinks a few times, trying to work out if ‘pretty cool’ qualifies for ‘lifelong dream’ status, before deciding it doesn’t really matter. “Right. Yes, well. This is _like_ that, only… I’ve been _dreaming_ about this my _entire_ life, and it turns out I _can_ get mine, but... only if you let him go.”

Todd hasn’t fully stopped struggling this whole time, but now he does, looking between Dirk and Hugo with the smallest amount of hope on his face. 

“C’mon,” a familiar voice says as Tina appears from behind the bar, sliding a drink towards Hugo. “We’ve _all_ got stuff we wanna do. Some of it’s easy, some of it’s not.” She shrugs, grinning at the warning glare Todd sends her. “Let him live his dreams, man. He’s not washed up yet! And hey, if you let him go, that drink’s on the house!”

“It’s not your beer to give away.” Todd grumbles, but doesn’t say anything else when Hugo _finally_ lets him go. Dirk grabs onto him, pulling him out of reach and looking him over worriedly. 

“Are you hurt? Can you walk? Do you know where you are?” He asks, rapid fire questions laden with concern spilling from his mouth. The look Todd gives him is certainly grumpy, but, Dirk thinks, vaguely fond. 

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

The magic words it would seem, as a small, angry woman throws the door open, to make their day _somehow_ get worse. 

“Can anyone tell me _why_ there are guards on the way down here?!” She sounds more than a little freaked out, but her eyes land on Todd almost immediately, and narrow into something scathing. “I should have _known_.”

“Amanda, it’s _not_ what it looks like!” Todd’s protests fall on deaf ears as she scoffs, marching over and somehow managing to look down on him despite being smaller. 

“What are you _doing_ here, Todd? I’ve seen the posters! This place has been running just _fine_ and now you’re getting _palace guards_ involved? You _know_ they don’t like us being here! You don’t need to give them a _reason_ to raid us!”

“I- it’s not-” Todd looks almost _upset_ , glancing warily over her shoulder at the gang from before who are now watching the interaction closely. Dirk decides he’s had _more_ than enough of being here, and he knows if they get caught by the guards he’s _never_ going to make it to the lights.

“It’s _my_ fault, actually.”

She turns on him then, looking him up and down with no small amount of suspicion. “Who are you?”

“Oh! My name’s Dirk, Dirk Gently! Todd here is my tour guide!” He smiles brightly, offering her his hand, but she ignores it, raising her eyebrows to look between them. 

“Your _tour guide_?” The disbelief is obvious in her voice, but Dirk just nods enthusiastically. 

“Well it’s not quite-”

“It’s _exactly_ that, thank you Todd! You see Miss… _Amanda_ , I am on a _very_ important mission to fill my one, and might I add _only_ , dream of seeing the… _floating lanterns_ which are, without a doubt, the most _beautiful_ thing I’ve ever seen. The problem is, that I really don’t know the way, and so Todd here has offered, rather grumpily, but that’s not the point, to lead the way, so I can get there and back safely.”

“Off- I didn’t _offer_ , you _blackmailed_ me!” Todd accuses, seemingly outraged as he scrunches his eyebrows in Dirk’s general direction making for a rather puzzling, if _charming_ , expression.

“You _blackmailed_ my brother?” Amanda asks, sounding a little more delighted than Dirk would _expect_ someone to sound about that, but then of course the world _is_ rather new to him, and as such many of its ways remain a mystery. 

“I wouldn’t call it _blackmail_ necessarily. More just a… persuasion tactic. He’s not very _agreeable_ to things I’ve noticed, but…” he softens a little, shrugging. “I do _need_ him. At least for now. I only have one chance to see them and it’s… I _can’t_ miss it.”

Amanda sighs heavily, and Dirk thinks he must have managed to win her over as she simply rolls her eyes before she says, “ _fine_. But you better go quick, and _don’t_ -” she turns to Todd, “think about coming back here unless you have a _really_ good reason.”

Todd looks crushed, but Dirk can hear the thundering of hooves getting closer and he _knows_ that means they don’t have much time. “ _Noted!_ ” he says, eyeing the door nervously, “but I really think-”

“Come on,” Amanda insists, grabbing them both by the wrist and pulling them through to the back of the bar. She tugs on one of the taps and a panel in the wall slides away to reveal a tunnel. Dirk gasps in delight, turning to her with wide, bright eyes. 

“You’re _incredible!_ ” He declares. It’s enough to make her smile, albeit briefly.

“Yeah, well. I have my ways. You better get going, good luck with the lights and stuff.”

“Amanda-” her smile disappears when Todd speaks and she points her finger at him. 

“I’m doing this for _him_ , not for you. You’d better do what you promised.”

Dirk wants to ask, Todd wants to protest, but neither of them have the time so instead Todd just swallows heavily and nods, looking at her like he wants to pull her into a hug, but knowing better than to try. 

“Good to see you.” Is all he says, vulnerable and honest. Amanda shrugs, moving to push the panel back into place and casting a panicked glance over her shoulder when the sound of fighting breaks out. 

“Nice to meet you Dirk, but you guys should probably run!” It’s the last thing she manages to say before the panel slides into place and they’re left standing in the low lit tunnel. Todd appears to be frozen in place for a moment, and Dirk is just on the edge of panic before he manages to shake himself out of it.

“We should run.” He agrees, backing away for a few steps, before something knocks against the door and he grabs Dirk’s hand to drag him along. “Lets _go_.”

It’s the first time Dirk has _ever_ had to run for his life, especially stumbling along an uneven tunnel with barely enough light to see by, but the only thing he can focus on is the way their fingers are intertwined, and the warm, rough touch of Todd’s palm against his own. 

The way his heart skips has nothing at _all_ to do with the danger, and despite everything they’ve experienced so far, Dirk’s not sure he even wishes it did. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked this chapter please leave a comment! It's pretty much the only kind of payment I get for this so you know, that'd be cool of you <3


	5. Four

“I want this entire place searched from top to bottom!” Farah orders, drawing her sword as the guards file in to the bar. She can’t see either of them here, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t hiding somewhere, and given the way the patrons seems less than happy about their presence, she’s willing to bet they’d be the types to harbour fugitives.

“Can I _help_ you?” 

Farah looks around, bewildered for a moment before catching the eye of the woman behind the bar. She doesn’t look particularly impressed, arms crossed in front of her and eyebrow raised in question. An angry barkeep is _not_ what Farah wants to be dealing with right now. 

“Are you the owner of this… _establishment_?” She asks, sheathing her sword as she makes her way over, pulling the wanted poster out of her satchel. 

“Sure am, and I prefer it when people _knock_ or at least _ask_ before they start _raiding_ my place.”

“I apologise for the intrusion,” she says, not sounding particularly sorry. “But we’re looking for this man,” she slides the paper over the countertop towards her. “The crimes he’s been accused of are incredibly serious, I’ve been given means to find him at all costs, _including_ the ‘raiding’ of your premises. Perhaps you could help?”

Amanda holds her stare as she picks up the poster, glancing down at it before shrugging noncommittally. 

“I’m guessing you already know he’s my brother?” 

She’s right of course, asking around about who owned the place had brought the name Brotzman up more than a handful of times, but she’d been hoping to catch her out with that particular information. 

“It’s come up, yes.”

“You think that means I know where he is?”

Farah frowns, thrown for a moment. “Is that an… unfair assumption?”

Amanda snorts, sliding the paper back over to her. “I don’t know where Todd is, and I don’t care. You’re welcome to stay for a drink as long as you don’t intimidate my customers, but if you’re hoping to catch him here you’ll be waiting for a _very_ long time. Right boys?”

Farah’s attention is pulled to the group of men lurking nearby, eyeing her lazily. “He don’t come round here no more, he ain’t welcome.” One of them drawls, the statement is followed by agreeable murmurs from the rest of the group, and Farah folds the poster back up. 

“Well in that case I just need to see your delivery tunnels.”

Amanda glances over at the wall behind her. “Why?”

“It’s entirely possible, given the nature of your establishment, that our suspect may have been in here without your knowledge. Given that he’d have prior knowledge of the delivery tunnels it stands to reason he could have used them to escape.” She’s onto something, and she knows it, especially when Amanda stares her down for a minute before standing aside. 

“If I find your brother, I’ll let you know.” She promises, reaching for the hilt of her sword as she pushes the panel open. “Down here!”

The guards thunder back down the stairs, rushing through the door as she holds it open for them. At least there hadn’t been a fight, not that Farah thinks they couldn’t take the patrons of the bar, just that she hates messy. Fights like his _always_ get messy. 

“Honestly?” Amanda laughs, shaking her head. “I’d rather you _didn’t._ ”

Farah nods once, and Amanda slams the door behind them, sinking to the floor and cursing her brother for being such an _idiot_. They may not be on the best terms, but she’s not sure she wants to see him _executed_. The only thing she can do for now is hope they’d made it far enough to have a good head start.

***

Their running turns to wandering before long, presuming it’s safe when they can’t hear footfalls behind them. It also becomes rather apparent that neither of them are particularly built for running for a long time, and so when they eventually settle into walking side by side, helped along by one of the torches they’d snagged from the wall along the way, it feels like a natural step.

“So uh,” Todd clears his throat, breaking the silence that’s fallen between them and glancing sideways at Dirk, “I guess I should… say thanks? I mean, I’m pretty sure you saved my life back there and… yeah. I didn’t really see that coming so… thanks.” 

“I know!” Dirk exclaims, bouncing excitedly for a few steps. “I mean, not the thanks, you’re welcome by the way! Just the… me being good at that bit. Well, the me being good at _anything_ bit but especially when it comes to… would you say they were more _ruffians_ or _thugs_?” 

Todd raises an eyebrow at the question, huffing softly when it becomes clear Dirk is actually expecting an answer. “More like… I dunno. A lot of them are good guys? In a way, just a bit rough around the edges anyway. Some of them… not so much.”

“Mm,” Dirk nods knowingly, even though he clearly doesn’t know anything about it and it shows all over his face. “What about you?”

“What about me?” Todd frowns in the torchlight, casting a nervous glance back over his shoulder. 

“Well… you don’t _seem_ like a ruffian or a thug. But you _are_ being chased by guards, and you _did_ break into my tower. So… what are you?”

“I’m…” he sighs heavily. “I don’t know. A criminal? A mess? Something like that.”

“No,” Dirk muses, “you’re too dashing to be a criminal, that’s _boring_. How about a rascal? Or a rogue? Or a _scoundrel_?”

Todd snorts, and Dirk tries not to look too delighted by the sound. “A _scoundrel_?” he asks, raising one eyebrow at him, and if Dirk isn’t mistaken there’s a hit of pinkness in his cheeks. He finds himself wishing they had more than torchlight for him to see the blush by, he’s sure its an amazing thing. 

“It has a certain charm to it, don’t you think?” Dirk sniffs. 

“ _Sure_ , if you’re six foot two with a perfect smile and a ridiculous ability to con people into bed.”

“Hm. Well you’re _certainly_ not six foot two.” Dirk concedes, earning himself a glare from Todd that can _only_ be described as _scathing_. “But you’re… _charming_. In your own way, even if it is somewhat… unconventional.”

Todd’s eyebrows have formed a somewhat bemused wavy line that Dirk finds himself wanting to smooth out. “Thanks? I think,” he mumbles. “What does that make you then? Damsel in distress?”

“ _Hardly_ , I _did_ just save your life, Todd,” he rolls his eyes. “I’m… a _man of mystery_.” 

This time Todd laughs properly, throwing his head back with it, and Dirk is almost too enchanted by it to be offended. _Almost_. 

“What! I _could_ be!” he protests, crossing his arms over his chest and trying not to feel flustered at the sheer joy in Todd’s eyes when he looks at him.

“Oh yeah?” Todd teases, grinning wide in the torchlight, “you do nothing but _talk_ , and I’m expected to believe you have secrets?”

“Well _Todd_ ,” Dirk huffs, ignoring the way he can feel his own cheeks heating up under the teasing, “I think you’d be _surprised_.”

“ _Sure_ ,” he smirks, shaking his head.

“Go back to the part where you were telling me how wonderful I was for saving your life.”

“Did I say wonderful?”

“You certainly _implied_ it.”

“I don’t think I _did_.”

Todd is still smirking, and Dirk has decided he _hates_ it. He wants to shove him, or shake him, or do just about anything to make it so he doesn’t have to keep _looking_ at it and having that awful fluttery sensation in his stomach. 

Stupid Todd and his stupid face. It’s a good job he won’t see it again after this. Although the thought does leave something lingering in his chest, an ache of sorts. He’s not at all familiar with the sensation, but as he glances over at Todd out of the corner of his eye he finds his smirk softened into something else. He looks more relaxed with it, more… Dirk doesn’t want to say _fond_ , he doesn’t think he really knows what fondness _looks_ like, but the feeling Todd’s expression gives him is the same one he gets when he reads about such things, and even though he doesn’t want to put too much stock in it when Todd usually seems so grumpy, he lets the flicker of hope he _does_ have grow a little brighter.

There’s a clattering behind them then, and at the sound of it Todd freezes, turning to face the darkness they’ve just come through with no small amount of worry. The sound comes again, and _again_ , and then just as he thinks it can’t get any worse, the unmistakable sound of thundering footsteps takes over and Todd grabs his hand for the second time that day. 

“No no no, fuck, _run_ ,” he insists, pulling Dirk along until he gets his feet under him enough to stumble over the uneven path beneath them. 

“What is it?” Dirk asks in a panic, letting Todd lead the way as he _clearly_ has some better idea of where he’s going than Dirk does. It doesn’t do much to assuage his worry, rushed as he is and frantic as Todd looks. 

“Guards, _fuck_ , they must have found the passage. We have to get out of here.” He’s keeping his voice low to avoid being detected, but Dirk thinks it’s rather pointless when there’s only one path they could be on and it sounds like the guards are gaining on them. 

“Well how far is that?” He hisses back despite himself, throwing panicked glances over his shoulder every now and then and putting his hand into his pocket to check that Mona is still there. His fingers find her, huddled in the farthest corner and he pets her reassuringly. That’s one less thing to worry about at least, or so he tells himself. 

“I don’t _know_ , I haven’t been down here in _years_ but maybe _-”_ Todd turns sharply to the left, bringing Dirk along with him into the first reassuring glimpses of daylight. “Come _on_.”

***

When they finally make it out of the tunnel, the situation isn’t that much better. There’s a sharp drop down in front of them and Dirk nearly runs headfirst over it, stopped only by Todd grabbing the back of his jacket and pulling him so hard they both go sprawling onto their backs. 

“Where _are_ we?” He asks, distracted from their plight by the looming wooden structure that’s been built into the rock face next to them. 

“It’s a dam.” Todd answers, panting for breath as he drags himself to his feet. “They blocked most of the river off up there when they were trying to dig up gold. This whole place hasn’t been used in years. Nobody comes down here except traders travelling through.”

It’s the most Dirk thinks he’s heard Todd say since they started their adventure, and while he wants to commemorate it, he can’t honestly say it’s the first thing on his mind right now. 

“Todd,” he says, voice soft and urgent as he tugs on his sleeve to pull his attention towards the only road out. “They don’t _look_ like traders.” Dirk may well be wrong, he’s never _seen_ a trader before, and while he’s very much _hoping_ Todd will correct him and say that the two rather burly men advancing on them are just here to sell some fruit, the way the colour drains from his face when he sees them isn’t exactly reassuring. Neither is the way the two men grin when they spot him. 

“Brotzman!” One of them yells, and Todd backs away immediately, feet slipping on the loose rocks and sending them cascading down below. 

“Shit, _shit_ ,” he swears, running a hand through his hair and hurriedly looking around for a way out. 

“Who _are_ they?” Dirk asks, a note of hysteria creeping into his voice as he follows Todd in backing up towards the structure. 

“They uh- they don’t like me!”

“You’re a _dead_ man!” The other yells, and Dirk tries his best not to laugh somewhat morbidly at his perfect timing. 

“Yes I can _see_ that. The guards don’t appear to like you very much either!”

At the reminder of the guards Todd’s eyes dart to the tunnel entrance, they may have bought themselves some time by taking the last minute turn but it’s not nearly going to be enough. 

“ _Nobody_ likes me just-” Todd, wild eyed and panicking, looks for a moment exactly how he imagines a fox would if it were caught in a trap. It’s not reassuring. “Climb!”

Dirk looks from his face up to the precariously balanced structure above them. It looks like it would fall over if the wind blew too hard and Dirk isn’t sure he likes their chances. “You have _got_ to be joking!”

“Look. If we stay up here we’re probably going to die. We need to get down there, and _climbing_ is a better way down than being _thrown over the edge_ so unless you have a better idea-”

He’s cut off by the shouts of the guards finally spilling out of the tunnel, this time one of them _does_ go over the edge, and the sound of him screaming all the way down is enough for Dirk to make his mind up as he scrambles to find a foothold on the wooden beams. 

“No, you’re right! Down it is!” 

Dirk hasn’t been in much mortal danger in his life, and despite his insistence on being a criminal it would appear that Todd hasn’t either. He’s making a valiant effort to keep his eyes open as they continue their descent, but they really aren’t getting as far as either of them would like, especially when the guards decide to start following. Dirk is fairly sure they’ll be able to out-climb them, what with their heavy armour and the fact that running for your life will always be a more powerful motivator than running to catch up with someone, and yet somehow they manage to surprise him by starting to shoot _arrows_ from the cliff top. 

It’s not a _scream_ , but Dirk _certainly_ makes a rather panicked noise at that. 

“They _really_ don’t like you!” He tells Todd, who looks like he’s about to yell when he’s cut off by the frankly _horrifying_ sound of arrow tearing through flesh, and finds himself crying out instead. 

It only slices along the side of his hand but it’s enough to make Todd let go, which in turn is more than enough to make Dirk panic at the sight of his new best friend hanging above a _very_ high drop with just one hand. 

“Hold on!” Dirk yells, trying to find a foothold good enough to make him able to reach out for him, but under the combined weight of the approaching guards the wood creaks ominously, and Dirk watches as Todd tries to find his grip with increasingly bloody fingers. 

“I- I’m _trying_ it’s just- _fuck_ ,” Todd hisses, muttering to himself. “This was _such_ a dumb idea, we’re not gonna get down without falling.”

It’s a horrifying thought, made more so when Dirk glances down to see _just_ how far that particular fall is. Todd is starting to look pale, clinging to the structure rather than holding onto it in a way that looks dangerously like his grip is about to give out on him any minute. Todd is going to die, he realises, and it’s all his fault. His father was right, he _never_ should have left, and he _certainly_ shouldn’t have dragged Todd into it. The guilt floods through him so strongly he feels like he can’t breathe. Dirk has no _idea_ how he could have been so _stupid_ , and now Todd is caught up in it too. _He_ may have made the decision to go out and face the dangers of the world, but _Todd_ certainly hadn’t. He wonders if he’ll even get chance to explain himself, when Todd starts apologising before he can.

“Just-” Todd starts, “if you- if you make it out of this will you go back and tell Amanda I’m sorry? I just- I want her to know that I never meant it to go badly. That I should have told her-” he looks pale, worryingly so, and Dirk wants to reassure him but he doesn’t even know where to start. 

“Oh!” Dirk interrupts, shaking his head to silence Todd’s protests, a sudden moment of realisation dawning on him as he thinks about all the things he should have told Todd before now, if only to let him know what kind of danger he was getting into. “God I’m such an idiot!” He laughs, letting go just enough to scoop Mona out of his pocket and raise her up to his shoulder instead. “I have something to show you!”

“Is-” Todd looks around wildly, the advancing guards, the _worrying_ way the entire structure beneath them is swaying, Dorian and Gordon on the cliff face still yelling things he can’t hear. “Is now a good time?”

“The best time! I can’t think of a better time! Just-” he shuffles a little closer and reaches out for Todd. “Hold on, I can fix this! I can get us down!”

Todd frowns, bewildered but holding onto him all the same. If nothing else at least this way they’ll die together, he wonders if that counts for something. “I _really_ don’t see how-”

The words die on his tongue, watching wide-eyed as Dirk closes his eyes and _wills_ a transformation harder than he ever has in his _life_. His hair starts to glow, gleaming in gold as his jacket melts away and spirals out into the rope Todd recognises from earlier today. It coils down his arm to wrap around their joined hands, Todd tries very hard not to flinch away as it does so, and wraps itself around the beam above them, anchoring into place. It doesn’t look like it will be long enough, but seeing as how a moment ago it didn’t even _exist_ Todd thinks he’ll just have to save his questions for later. 

“ _What the_ -”

“Do you trust me?” Dirk asks urgently, noting how close the guards are getting even with the bulk of their armour slowing them down.When he gets no response he turns back to face him. “Todd!”

“I-” he shakes his head, still wide-eyed and turning to stare at the rope. “I guess?” It’s not like he has other options right now. 

“Good. Hold onto the rope, and _jump_.”

It seems secure, it _feels_ secure, but it’s a _long_ way down and Todd doesn’t know if he _can_. One look up at the ridge however, tells him the guards are readying another barrage of arrows, and it’s enough to make his decision for him.

“Okay. Okay let’s just-”

“Ready?” Dirk sounds terrified as well, and Todd wants to tell him absolutely not, but there’s nothing else for it right now. Instead he finds himself nodding shakily, and holding Dirk’s hand so tight it almost hurts.

They jump.

There’s a few moments where it feels like everything slows down. Mona huddling up against Dirk’s shoulder and digging tiny claws into his shirt, the guards letting their arrows loose as the ones that have climbed closest reach out to try and catch them, and the solid wood beneath their feet giving way to open air as they fall.

The rope goes taught before they hit the ground, but then to Todd’s astonishment it keeps _growing_. Glowing golden along with Dirk’s hair as it catches the sunlight, and he can see how much Dirk is concentrating on _something_. If he’s going to be completely honest the thought that Dirk might be more than a little odd _had_ occurred to him, but even down that trail of thought he hadn’t made it as far as _magic powers_. In all truth he feels a little overwhelmed. 

In contrast to the horrifying leap, they hit the ground quite softly, rolling over to a stop once their bodies meet the floor. Todd stares as the rope coils in on itself, pulling away from the dam wall to snake back around into the jacket it had come from. It’s a _lot_ , and Todd is trying to work out where to even _start_ asking questions before he realises something is very _very_ wrong. 

The sky is blue and clear above them, but he feels the first drop of water on his face, followed by another, and _another_ , and with growing horror he looks up to see the wooden walls of the dam swelling out to meet them. 

“Todd…” Dirk’s voice sounds faint as he scrambles to his feet alongside him, both of them staring upwards as the dam lets out an unholy groan, and water starts to flow through in earnest. 

They scramble for the banks, trying to get to the higher ground and away from where the river _used_ to run, but it’s too late. The steady stream of water isn’t enough to relieve the pressure, and with an almighty crash the dam walls burst entirely. 

Dirk barely has time to reach for Todd before the water rushes in and sweeps them away. 

***

“This is all _your_ fault.” Gordon spits as they make their way back down the path from the tunnel. “If you hadn’t got him in on it none of this would have happened.”

“ _My_ fault? This was _your_ idea! I was happy with small time stuff but you _had_ to go and try and make it _big_. I’ll _kill_ him when I find him.”

“Not if I get to him first.”

Riggins watches from a safe distance away as they argue, making their clumsy way down and back to the forest. Ever since he’d discovered Dirk missing he’d set out to track him down, and while he hadn’t arrived at the Snuggly Duckling in time to follow the guards through the tunnel, he _had_ been in time to follow the two other idiots who appear to be chasing Dirk’s companion once they’d broken free from their chains.

They seem intent on tracking them down, or _Todd Brotzman_ at least, and he already knows what it is they want, even if he has no idea what they’ll do when they don’t find it on him. Either way, he knows they can help with his plan to get Dirk back, even if loose-lipped and somewhat intellectually lacking criminals wouldn’t have been his _first_ choice. He’s been trying _very_ hard not to let his rage get the better of him though, instead focusing on how to make this _work_. 

He can get angry later. 

“Excuse me, gentlemen.” He says, stepping out from the bushes once he’s close enough. They draw their weapons, but he merely raises his hands lazily. “I couldn’t help overhearing what you were saying, and I was wondering…” Riggins reaches to his side slowly, wary of their suspicious eyes as he pulls out the stachel containing the crown. “If _this_ would happen to be of any interest to you?”

Dorian snarls, taking a step closer and brandishing his sword at him. “That doesn’t belong to you.”

“Oh no, no of course not.,” he chuckles, holding it out to them. “Go ahead, take it. I’m not sure it belongs to _you_ either, but I have no use for it, not when I can give you something worth _ten_ of these.”

Gordon snatches the bag out of his hands and opens it up. “It’s here,” he confirms, passing it back to Dorian, interest piqued by Riggins’ words. “What’s worth more than this?” 

“Ah. Well, you see, that’s rather complicated. The _important_ part is, that if you agree to help me out, I’ll let you have it.”

Dorian’s eyes narrow suspiciously, turning the crown over in his hands. “Why would we help you? We’ve already got what we want.”

“ _True_ ,” Riggins nods. “But what I’m offering? It comes with _revenge_. You see, Todd Brotzman stole something from me, something very rare and incredibly valuable, and I would very much like it _back._ If you were to help me track it down, you can do whatever you like with him. And as a bonus, the reward for finding him is exactly the same whether he comes dead or alive.”

Gordon and Dorian look at each other for a moment, muttering something Scott can’t hear and eventually he sighs heavily. 

“You have your crown, if that’s all you want then I’d best be on my way. Things to do, people to find…” he trails off suggestively, turning to walk away, and he manages to make it all the way to the tree line before he’s stopped. 

“Wait!” Gordon shouts after him, the two of them running to keep up. “You don’t care what we do with him?”

Riggins shrugs. “My interest in Todd Brotzman goes as far as finding him, and retrieving my property. After that? He’s all yours.”

Dorian grins, slow and unpleasant, and elbows Gordon in the side conspiratorially. It appears they were just as easy to convince as Riggins had expected them to be.

“Count us in.”

***

The flood spits them out somewhere downstream, washed up coughing water and soaked to the skin as they drag themselves onto the bank with shaky hands. Dirk pats down his pockets as he pants for breath, alarmed to find Mona missing, when a small green frog hops onto his chest and croaks cheerfully enough to have him sighing in relief. 

“Oh thank heavens, I thought I’d _lost_ you!” He pats her head with a finger, rolling to sit up when she hops off, only to find Todd staring at him. 

“What-” Todd starts, dripping wet and looking rapidly between Dirk and Mona and eyeing Dirk’s jacket like it might spring to life and attempt to eat him. “What the _hell_?”

Dirk swallows heavily. “Ah, yes, _well_ , a _small_ detail I may have forgotten to mention-”

“You have… magic powers?!”

“I don’t have _magic powers_ ,” Dirk huffs. “I just-”

“You don’t- your hair glows!” Todd exclaims, gesturing wildly as he pulls himself to his feet, only to stumble back a few steps. “Your hair glows, and your _jacket_ it- it glows too? And turns into a _rope_? And the _frog_ is… is what? Sometimes a _mouse_? This is-” he makes a somewhat distressed sound, dropping down to sit on a nearby log and running his uninjured hand through his hair. “What is _happening_?”

Dirk watches him warily, unsure what to do in this situation. In all of his dreams of meeting other people they’d never been… upset? Todd is certainly _something_ and the last thing Dirk wants to do is ruin it. 

He takes a breath, dejected as he looks towards Mona. She hops a few paces in Todd’s direction, looking back at him expectantly. Dirk nods, resigning himself to his fate, and makes his way over to perch on the log as well, next to Todd but still a safe distance away.

“I-” he starts, watching him carefully. “The frog… her name is Mona. I don’t really know what she is, or where she came from, but she can be a lot of things. It’s quite impressive really, and she’s lovely! You just… have to get to know her. She’s my best friend. Well… my _only_ friend, I suppose.”

“...The frog is your friend?” Todd sounds completely deadpan, but he’s watching Dirk out of the corner of his eye and that has to count for something. 

“Yes! She’s… well. She’s like _me_ , I suppose. In a way at least, more so than my father. Or anyone else.”

“So… what? You can change too? Because if you change into a frog I might-”

“No! Nothing like that,” he hurries to reassure him. “She’s just- I don’t know if I have _magic powers_ but I have… _something_. It’s- it’s _complicated_. I can- change things, with my mind. Or- well, no. Not _things_ , just- just _this_.” He strokes his palm down the front of his jacket, a motion Todd watches with interest. 

“So- So the _jacket_ was the rope?” 

“Yes. But it can be other things as well, and that’s… that’s not _all_ I can do with it.” He has to admit it’s scary telling another person about this, about what makes him special. All of his life his father had taught him how to hide, but especially hide this. He can’t see the harm in telling Todd though, not now at least. He’s already seen what it can do, and Dirk _did_ almost just get him killed so he probably owes him an explanation.

“So uh… what- what else can it- you- do?” He looks curious, and Dirk searched his face for something, _anything_ that would suggest telling him would be a bad idea. He stares for a good long while, past the point that Todd feels comfortable with it, but whatever he’s looking for he doesn’t find it. 

“I- I could show you?” He offers, careful. Todd’s eyes meet his for a moment, Dirk doesn’t look away, instead he just waits until Todd nods carefully. It’s enough to have Dirk shrugging off his jacket, willing it down into something smaller until it’s more a woven handkerchief sitting in his palm, ignoring the way he can feel himself glowing with it, trying his best not to shy away. He doesn’t know why he’s worried, he wants to think it’s his fathers warnings coming back to haunt him but in truth it feels like more than that. Like he’s worried about what Todd will think of him once he knows. Like he’s worried it will be _bad_ , and not in all the ways he’d been told about before. He swallows and does his best to push the feeling away. “Can- Can I have your hand?”

Todd hesitates, looking like he’s going to say something for a moment before he just holds his hand out wordlessly. Dirk may not know much about people, but he knows that’s a sign of trust. He makes a silent promise to himself not to break it. The gash from the arrow is oozing blood rather than gushing it at this point, but it still looks nasty and he doubts a dunk in the river would have helped. Dirk takes it as gently as he can, delicate fingers prodding at the wound just to make sure he’s not underestimated it’s seriousness. Todd’s hand is warm under his, rougher than Dirk’s own in a way he’s not expecting. He cradles it like it’s something precious, wrapping the handkerchief around his palm as gently as he can manage, but the contact is still enough to make Todd wince, breaking the silence between them when he inhales sharply through his teeth. 

“Sorry!” Dirk winces himself in apology, Todd cuts him off with a shake of his head. 

“It’s fine.” The words are quiet, just loud enough for Dirk to hear but whisper soft beyond that. Dirk doesn’t dare look away from his work, deciding it’s probably best just to keep going and get it all over with. Once it’s all wrapped he finally looks up, meeting Todd’s eyes. There’s something in the way he’s looking at him, curious, _heavy_ , that makes him feel hot all of a sudden. Then again, it might just be the nerves. 

“I- Promise me you won’t freak out?”

Todd shrugs uncertainly. “I’ll try my best?”

It’s enough, it has to be enough, and Dirk nods once before looking back down at his hand and concentrating as hard as he can on healing it. He imagines the wound knitting itself back together the way his fabric does when he changes it, pushing all the energy and light it generates into the cloth until it’s glowing as brightly as his hair is, a tiny patch of sunlight in the palm of Todd’s hand. Eventually when Dirk feels himself starting to wane, the glow fades, ebbing away with the last of his will as he unwraps his hand carefully. 

Todd lifts it up to his face, examining the new skin that’s grown over where the arrow had sliced him open. It looks brand new, like nothing had ever happened. Not a mark, a scar, not even a _scratch_. For a long time he just stares, and Dirk watches him nervously, waiting for his reaction. 

“How long have you been able to do this?” His voice is thin and his eyes are wide, but concern is better than outright terror, Dirk decides. He can _work_ with questions.

“All my life. Or, well, for as long as I can remember at least. It only works with the jacket so I don’t know about before that, but I’ve had that for as long as I can remember too.”

Todd frowns at that, looking at the handkerchief in Dirk’s hands. “It only works with the jacket? Isn’t it just… the jacket then?”

Despite himself, Dirk finds the prospect of explaining this to Todd a little _exciting_. It’s the most interest anyone has ever taken in Dirk, or at least his powers, without already knowing more than he does about it. He finds himself shuffling a little closer. 

“Not really? It’s… _look_.” He holds the fabric out to him, and Todd takes it warily. As soon as Dirk lets go it dulls somewhat, turning to more of a brown and feeling heavier in Todd’s hand. “Can you do anything with it?” He asks, even though he already knows the answer. 

“I- I wouldn’t even know _how_.”

“You just… you have to _think_ about what you want it to be, and then you can sort of… _feel_ it?” Todd eyes him sceptically, but he closes his eyes for a moment anyway, eyebrows scrunching up as he focuses. “No,” he says after a minute. Definite. “There’s not- I don’t feel anything.”

“Right.” Dirk nods, “and right now I can’t do anything either, look.” He focuses as hard as he can on the fabric, willing it into something else, trying to force it to change shape where it still hangs limp in Todd’s hands. “See? Nothing. But then-”

He reaches out to take it from him, and the moment he touches it they both light up, glowing golden as it wraps around him and settles back onto his shoulders, Dirk’s hair fading along with the threads as the jacket returns to normal. 

Dirk watches as Todd tries to take that in. His father had always assured him that people would want to hurt him for his powers, Todd looks more like he’s close to passing out from shock. 

“What-” Todd pauses, shaking his head incredulously. “If- if it’s just the one thing then what happens if it gets damaged?”

“Oh it doesn’t!” Dirk is feeling far more hopeful than he was a moment ago, the fact that Todd hasn’t run screaming into the woods is a good sign, he’s sure of it. “Well- Father says you have to _want_ to damage it, and if it _did_ get damaged even _I_ couldn’t fix it, and the healing doesn’t work on _me_ so if _I_ get damaged then it can’t fix me either. We have to work together, and we have to be safe. That’s why we stay in the tower!”

That apparently is enough to make Todd frown, turning to him with a strange look Dirk can’t identify painted all across his face. 

“Stay in the tower?”

“Well… yes?” Dirk feels wrongfooted all of a sudden, like he may have said the wrong thing. “It keeps me safe, and if there’s one thing we’ve proven today it’s that my father was right, the outside world is _far_ too dangerous. I never should have left, really, but this… this is _worth_ it. And besides, once I’m back there I’ll be safe forever really. Unless someone else happens upon the tower but you’re the first to do that and it’s been a _long_ time.”

“You… You’ve never left the tower before?” Whatever Todd’s face is doing Dirk doesn’t like it, drawing his jacket tighter around himself. “ _Ever_?”

“Of course not!” He laughs, but it’s less sure than it would have been a moment ago. “It’s not _safe,_ people would take me away and try to use my powers and… and _hurt_ me. It’s far better to stay there. If nobody knows about me then they can’t hurt me, or use me, or anything like that.”

“But…” Todd frowns, shaking his head incredulously. “You’re just going to what, go back there? Stay there for the rest of your life?”

“Well…” It’s Dirk’s turn to frown this time, shrugging guiltily. “ _No_. Or… yes? I- I _suppose_ so. I don’t know.”

He must sound distressed, he’s certainly starting to _feel_ it, because Todd stops for a moment and looks him over, visibly softening at the sight of him. Oddly, it makes Dirk feel more guarded than before.

“Is that why you’ve never been before? To the lanterns?” Todd moves a little closer, watching him far more gently than he had been before. It makes Dirk feel some kind of way, the fluttering in his stomach both uncomfortable and thrilling. He gets the feeling Todd feels… _sad_ for him, but he can’t for the life of him work out _why_. 

“It’s not like I could just _leave!_ ” He tells him, a little more defensive than intended. “But… then here _you_ are! And it must have been some kind of… _destiny_ for you to turn up when you did, because I’d _never_ have left on my own. Even if I wanted to, even if I _needed_ to. So I suppose really you’re some kind of… angel.”

Whatever Todd was _going_ to say gets lost when his face flushes a rather vibrant shade of red, eyebrows furrowing for a moment and shaking his head vehemently. 

“I- what? No, _no_ I’m not- I’m nothing like… _that_.” He huffs, running a hand through his hair and looking torn between angry and guilty at the words. 

“Why not? I think you’re wonderful. Not to mention _brave_ , you’re handling all of… _this very_ well.”

Todd scoffs, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, well. You don’t know me. You don’t-”

“So tell me.” Dirk offers happily, partly releived that the pressure is off him for the moment, partly curious about what stories _Todd_ might have hidden away. “I mean, I told you mine. It can’t be worse than that, can it?”

There’s a very long moment where Todd just stares, something Dirk is beginning to think he’s rather fond of, before looking back to the ground. It seems he’s made up his mind at least, but Dirk can’t be sure what his decision is until he starts talking. 

“Amanda is my sister. I mean, I guess you worked that out? But-” he picks at the bark nervously, seemingly trying to find his words. “Our parents… they died when we were younger, so for a while it was just us. They owned the inn, and someone came by one time and, well. They got into an argument, found the wrong end of the sword I guess. It was… messy. Anyway I thought, you know, maybe we could make it work, just the two of us. I was old enough to run the inn, just about, so I tried it, and it went okay for a while but-” he shrugs, shifting uncomfortably. “I wasn’t good at it. I didn’t know what I was doing, and I was trying to pretend I _did_ , but I… I got desperate. And then one day- I was playing cards with a guy. The business was going under, everything was just… running itself into the ground. I was drunk as hell and I had no money left to bet so I thought what the hell, you know? Just… bet the whole thing. Best case is I win and we have enough money to pay off all the debts, worst case is he wins and he has to take all the debt with it.”

Todd goes quiet for a long time, and Dirk tilts his head at him sensing the story isn’t finished yet. “What happened?”

“He won.” Todd admits eventually, voice rough as it cuts through the sounds of the forest. “All of it. But… it wasn’t just the business, it was our _home_. It was our parents, they poured their _lives_ into that place, they left it for us to live in and off of when they died- even if that was earlier than they expected. It was the _only_ place we had to call our own, the only thing we had left of them and… I lost it on a bet.”

Dirk frowns, doing his best to think it over without making it too obvious that he’s doing just that as Todd shrinks in on himself like a snail retreating into its shell.

“But… Amanda still runs it?” 

“She bought it back eventually. Took a long time, and when she found out how it got lost in the first place?” He shakes his head. “There’s a good reason she hates me. I’m… I was selfish. Guess I still am, really. I’ve been _trying_ to pay her back but… then I got into debt with Dorian and Gordon, so when _they_ offered me a way to pay it all back by doing something for them it… it seemed like a good idea? But then- I realised I could pay _everything_ off, all my other debts, Amanda for the inn, maybe set up some other stuff and…”

“You stole it from them instead.” Dirk finishes for him, suddenly understanding why Todd seemed so bad at this. 

“Now Amanda thinks I’m a criminal, which… I guess I am, and I’m probably going to be… I don't know, arrested for it. So it’s…” Todd sighs, shoulders hunched high and wrought with tension. “That’s me, I guess.”

Silence falls around them, save for the sounds of the forest. Dirk watches Todd, and Todd looks anywhere _but_ at Dirk, and if he’s being _completely_ honest Dirk isn’t entirely sure what Todd expects him to say.

“ _Well_ ,” Dirk hedges eventually, carefully inching closer. “If it helps, _I_ don’t think you’re a bad person.”

Todd snorts derisively.

“You’ve lived in a tower all of your life.” He sounds tired and sad, running a hand over his face as he speaks. 

“And I’ve met a _lot_ of bad people today! So far you haven’t done _anything_ to make _me_ worry, other than nearly _die_ a few times, and if there’s _anything_ I know how to spot, it’s a bad person. I’ve been training all my life.”

Todd takes in the imploring look on Dirk’s face, and his mouth quirks up into the faintest hint of a smile. It barely lasts for a second, because then Dirk shivers and Todd’s face morphs into a frown instead. 

“I should go and get some firewood.” He shakes his head like he’s annoyed he hadn’t thought of it before.

“Oh! Should I come with you?” 

“No. Just… stay here, I won’t be long.” Dirk tries his best to hide his disappointment as Todd traipses off into the trees, but pulls his jacket a little tighter around himself. Now that the sun is starting to set it’s definitely getting colder, but he can’t help but feel warm inside when he thinks about Todd opening up to him. Nobody had ever done anything like that with him before, not to mention the fact that he’d taken news of Dirk’s abilities _far_ better than he’d ever had imagined. He wonders, just for a second, if that means they’re close now. 

He finds himself hoping it does. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked this chapter please leave a comment! It's pretty much the only kind of payment I get for this so you know, that'd be cool of you <3


	6. Five

Despite how much he’s thought about leaving his tower in the past, experiencing it is something else entirely. All of his father’s warnings about the outside world are still firmly embedded in his mind, but right now Dirk is struggling to think of a time he’s ever felt more content. Even with the darkness starting to creep up on them, the world out here is beautiful.

In the end however, the woods are still a dangerous place. 

“Hello, Dirk.”

It’s the _last_ voice he’d expected to hear, and Dirk whirls round, stumbling back a few steps in shock. It takes a moment for him to catch up. 

“ _Father_? I- wh- how did you find me?”

“Oh, it was easy enough.” Riggins smiles, pulling him into a hug as soon as he’s close enough to do so. “You’re not exactly subtle, or clever enough to cover your tracks. Honestly it’s a wonder I didn’t find you dead.”

“I- father...”

“We’re going home, Dirk.” His voice is firm, no room for argument as he takes his arm. “Right now.”

“What? Wait, you- you don’t understand! I’ve been… today has been _incredible_ and you wouldn’t _believe_ the things I’ve seen! There’s _so_ much more to the world than I ever even _thought_ and I haven’t even been here a whole day! I-” he looks away for a moment, over his shoulder into the woods where he last saw Todd wandering off. “I even _met_ someone and he’s… _perfect_.” 

“Oh I know _all_ about the company you’ve been keeping,” he laughs. “A wanted thief? _Really,_ Dirk. And you think you’re ready to be out here on your own? We are _going_ home.”

“I- _father_ ,” he tugs his wrist out of Riggins grip, taking a step away from him. “I think- I think maybe he… _likes_ me,” and he hadn’t truly realised until now that the looks Todd had been giving him could be classed as _fond_ , if not something more than that. They’d been getting on, hadn’t they? And Dirk certainly liked _him_ well enough. They could be _friends_ at least, and that’s _more_ than he’d ever even _hoped_ of getting. 

“ _Likes_ you?” Riggins scoffs, raising his his eyebrows and looking him up and down. “ _Why_ would you think that he _likes_ you? Because he’s taking you on a trip to the kingdom? Dirk, there’s nothing a man like that could _like_ about you that isn’t to do with money, and the fact that you even _think_ he would is just proof that you’re too naive to be here.” His face softens, taking a step forwards and reaching out to cup Dirk’s cheek carefully. “Let’s get you home. We can put a stop to all this nonsense, keep you safe. You _know_ that you don’t belong out here, I don’t want you getting hurt. It’s really for the best.”

Dirk swallows, tears welling up in his eyes as he tries his hardest to summon all the courage he’d had earlier. The thought of getting this far only to turn round and head home without ever seeing the lanterns, of leaving _Todd_ when they’re just getting to know each other, is almost too much to bear. He’d saved Todd’s life _twice_ today, he can say one word to his father. 

“ _No_.”

The second the word leaves his mouth he feels his heart rise up into his throat.

The beat of silence that passes between them feels like a lifetime condensed into a minute.

“No?” Something happens to his father's expression, something he’s never seen before. It goes dark, stormy even as he takes a step away from him and stares him down. “Oh, I _see_.” His voice is cold, and not in the way Dirk is used to. It feels like he’s done something terrible, and he finds himself reaching out for him even though he’s too far away to hold onto. “You think you’re all grown up now. You think you understand how the world works? How _people_ work? You think, that because he was nice to you, because he _smiled_ at you, and he’s taking you out on an adventure, that he _likes_ you? You think you can _trust_ him? Is that it? That because he’s not hurt you already that means he never will?”

“I never _said-_ ” 

“I suppose _this_ has nothing to do with it?” His father pulls a familiar satchel from under his cloak, holding it out in front of him. Dirk’s stomach drops at the sight of it and he shakes his head minutely. 

“How did you-”

“ _This_ is why he’s here. Not because he _likes_ you, not because he _wants_ to be. _This_. You were naive enough to let him _trick_ you into thinking there was another reason, but we _both_ know that’s not true.”

“You’re _wrong_ ,” he insists, eyes welling up with tears as he clenches his hands into fists at his side. “Todd would _never-_ ”

“No?” His father asks dangerously, tossing the satchel at Dirk’s feet. “Then give it to him. If he’s so _good_ , if he _likes_ you so much, give him the _one_ thing he _actually_ wants and just watch how fast he runs.”

“I-” Dirk can feel the uncertainty creeping in, the doubt, the _shame_ at having thought that _maybe_ \- but no. No, Todd _did_ like him! There are a million other ways he could have gotten the satchel back, right? If he really didn’t want to be with Dirk he could have abandoned him in the forest and gone back to get it himself, couldn’t he? He wouldn’t, sure, there was the whole thing with his family but Todd isn’t _like_ that, is he? Dirk sets his jaw, eyes shining with tears. “I _will_ give it to him!”

Riggins shakes his head and pats him on the cheek. “Don’t come crying to me when he runs away and leaves you because you were _ridiculous_ enough to think he wouldn’t. If you want to _betray_ me then I suppose you don’t care as much for me as I do for you, and if the only way you’re going to learn your lesson is by getting hurt then _so be it_. _I’m_ the only one who’s ever tried to keep you safe, Dirk. With how much danger he’s put you in today can you say the same for him?” 

“Father-” the realisation he’s about to leave sends a flood of panic through him. He shakes his head, picking up the satchel but holding it away like he’s afraid it will burn him as he reaches after him. “ _Wait_!”

But he doesn’t wait. Instead, Dirk watches helplessly as he disappears into the forest, torn between running after him and apologising for leaving, and going back to find Todd. For a while he doesn’t do either, staring at the satchel in his hands like he doesn’t have the first idea what to do with it, mostly because he _doesn’t_. Before now he’d been so _sure_ that he and Todd were… well. Getting along at least. That Todd had every intention of getting him to the city and back home as safely as he could, that he was actually starting to _enjoy_ spending time with him. 

Somewhere along the way he’d entirely forgotten that Todd was only taking him because Dirk had conned him into it. 

Suddenly he finds himself questioning everything, and he’s sure, he _is_ , that Todd won’t just abandon him if he gives him his satchel back now. Only… his father has never been _wrong_ before, _especially_ not when it comes to keeping him safe, and right now it feels like he’s hurt him enough to lose him. He doesn’t think he can risk losing Todd as well. No matter how sure he is. 

“Dirk?” Todd calls his name, concerned enough to pull him out of his thoughts, and Dirk looks back to where it’s coming from worriedly. 

He shakes himself out of it, wiping the tears off his cheeks and pasting on a smile as he slips the satchel into the inner pocket on his jacket, willing it to stay hidden inside. 

“Sorry! I was just… checking for bandits.” He assures him, emerging into the clearing where Todd is starting up a fire. 

“ _Right_.” Todd smiles, looking amused before he shakes his head. Dirk tries to work out what it _means_. “Well, the fire should keep away anything dangerous. We should get some rest.”

Dirk just nods, watching him carefully as he arranges the wood around the tinder, encircling the pile with stones. It’s clearly not the first time he’s done this, and he wonders if setting a fire is a normal skill to have, if it’s one he’d die without. 

“Hey,” Todd’s voice is soft, eyebrows furrowed when he looks at him. “Everything okay?”

“Hm? Yes! Everything is fine I’m just… tired.” It’s true enough, he feels _exhausted_ , body suddenly aching with all the day’s adventures coming in on him at once. 

Todd waits for a moment, giving him space to say anything else he might want to before conceding to the diversion. “Alright. Come on then,” he inclines his head towards the ground. “We’ve got a long day tomorrow if we want to get to the kingdom in time.”

Dirk sighs softly as he joins him on the floor, grimacing slightly when he realises how hard it is. After a moment he has an idea, and the forest around them glows as his jacket turns into a blanket big enough to cover both of them, the satchel still carefully concealed inside. 

Todd makes a soft sound of surprise when it covers him, but it doesn’t take too long for him to relax into it, and Dirk finds himself watching the back of Todd’s head until he rolls onto his back and his eyes dart away lest he be caught looking. What he sees instead is enough to make him gasp. 

“What?” Todd asks, voice drowsy but worried all the same, and for a moment all Dirk can do is shake his head. 

“I’ve-” he swallows heavily past the lump in his throat, eyes tearing up and blurring the scene laid out above them. “I’ve never _seen_ so many stars.”

He speaks in a broken whisper, but he can’t bring himself to care. The sky above them is dark, more a deep navy than black, but dark enough that the tiny sparks of light that glitter against it seem to shine even brighter than before. Dirk has only ever really had one patch of sky to look at, and never in his wildest dreams had he imagined it was so big and so _beautiful_. They’re meant to be sleeping, but he can’t _possibly_ close his eyes when there’s all _this_ up there and he’d never even known. Even the moon looks like it’s shining brighter just for him, and Dirk feels so overwhelmed it’s all he can do to stop himself from bursting into tears. 

“I guess it’s kinda nice.” Todd offers, subdued, and Dirk shakes his head. 

“It’s… they’re… this has just been here all that time and-” It’s not just the stars that are making him want to start sobbing, at least he doesn’t _think_ so. It’s more about what they represent, what it _means_ , the fact that his father had been warning him of the dangers of the outside world, ingraining that fear so _deeply_ within him, and had never _once_ made any suggestion of how much _beauty_ there was to be seen. And now he wants him to go back.

One room. One window. One patch of sky. Who knows what else there is out here that his father would keep him from. He’s experienced the danger firsthand now, he _knows_ that he wasn’t wrong, but a small, embittered part of him thinks that he should have been told about _all_ of it, that whether or not the danger was worth it for _this_ should have been his choice to make. 

He wants to believe he loves his father enough that he’d make the choice to stay anyway, but given where they are now he’s not so sure. 

The anger turns to guilt all too easily in his stomach. 

“There are animals up there.” Todd’s voice is soft, pulling Dirk out of his thoughts and making him look over in confusion. Todd looks like he’s been watching him, his expression soft, open, and worried. He swallows, shrugging one shoulder and appearing to suddenly turn shy under Dirk’s gaze. “In the stars, I mean.”

“Where?” Dirk asks, tilting his head back, brow furrowed as he searches the sky for a glimpse of _whatever_ Todd is talking about. “There’s just… _stars_.”

“The stars _are_ the animals. Just-” He huffs, frustrated as he shuffles closer. “Look, see there?”

He points up at the sky, and Dirk’s frown deepens. “I see _stars_. What am I looking at?”

Todd rolls his eyes, taking Dirk’s hand and making him point his own finger alongside Todd’s. “ _Look_ , start here.” He points them both towards a star, curving them round and down, before following along and linking them together with an invisible line. “See?”

Dirk _doesn’t_ see, and it’s enough to frustrate him, tilting his head as if to get a better idea. “See _what_?”

“It’s a _lion_.” Todd sighs, shaking his head. “Never mind.”

“No!” Because Todd sounds like he’s going to _give up_ , and even though Dirk really _does_ want to be able to see the lion, he wants this to stop even _less._ “Show me again?”

Todd looks at him sideways, but eventually he rolls his eyes and picks up his hand again. “Okay. It’s lying down, so just- imagine we’re drawing a line. Joining the dots. So this… is the top of it’s head and then down… that’s the mane, and the rest… is the body.”

“ _Oh_!” It doesn’t look _entirely_ like a lion, but Dirk is willing to concede that he can _kind of_ see where the idea comes from. He traces the shape again, grinning to himself as he does. “That’s _brilliant!_ ”

Todd snorts, but when Dirk catches sight of him he looks rather pleased with himself. “Yeah, well. I didn’t invent it.”

“But you _know_ it! What other animals are there?” Dirk watches him expectantly for an answer, and Todd tries very hard to pretend he’s not at least a _little_ flattered by the attention, even if he’s unsure they should be _doing_ this. It’s… _close_ , closer than he’s been with a person in a long time and as much as the stargazing and Dirk’s eager expression remind him of his sister when they were children, the gentle touches and being pressed so close together is almost enough to remind him of something else entirely. Todd swallows heavily, thankful for the darkness and the cover it provides. It doesn’t _mean_ anything. It can be nice without meaning anything. He’s starting to think Dirk is just _like_ this, but he’s never really watched him with anyone else so he wouldn’t know. It’s a thought best saved for later. 

“Well I mean…” He stumbles over the words, trying to find his footing. “There’s a dolphin, a swan, a crab, a scorpion, some bears, a fox… There’s a _lot_. People as well, and just some… stuff. A crown. A harp. I guess- People can see whatever they want.” He turns away from Dirk’s watchful gaze, looking back up at the sky. Dirk can hardly blame him.

“What about you?”

“Hm?”

“What do you see?”

“I-” he pauses for a moment, and Dirk thinks he’s going to dismiss the question until he speaks up again. “A moth.”

He frowns, looking up to try and find the _moth_ for himself. “Why not a butterfly? They’re prettier.”

“It’s out at night, it’s a moth.”

He can see the logic in that at least, but it doesn’t mean he _likes_ it. “Well I can’t even _see_ it.”

Todd rolls his eyes. Dirk doesn’t see it, but he _feels_ it. “There,” he points, waiting until Dirk is looking before tracing out the shape of a long body and two clumsy wings. 

“Oh. I… _suppose_ that counts.” He concedes eventually, trying not to let on that he _is_ actually quite impressed by Todd’s star-moth. He wonders how many things he’d have seen up there if he’d had the chance, right now he’s too taken with the beauty of it all to try. 

Todd doesn't speak for a long while, content to leave Dirk to his stargazing until he finds his eyes growing heavy as the night wears on. It’s only when he yawns that Todd sighs softly, tugging the blanket up a little higher around their shoulders and nudging Dirk with his elbow. “We should sleep.”

As much as Dirk is loath to admit it, Todd is right. He also sounds about as tired as Dirk feels, and he’d almost feel bad for keeping him up this late if he wasn’t so close to dropping off. As it is he just watches as Todd rolls over, curling in on himself and facing away from him in a way that makes the distance between them feel vast and sudden. Dirk wants to cuddle closer, but can’t find it in himself to make the move, so instead he contents himself with listening to the sound of Todd’s breathing, until it evens out into something that seems too steady for him still to be awake. 

“Goodnight Todd,” he whispers, assuming he’s asleep already.

“Night, Dirk.” Todd’s reply comes few moments later, sleep soft and affectionate in a way that warms him all the way to his toes. 

Dirk’s never had someone to say goodnight to before, let alone had someone to say it _back_. The thought of never having it again isn’t something he wants to have to contemplate. Even if he _were_ to think about it though, he’s too tired to think about it now, and the last thought he has before he drifts off to sleep, is the realisation that despite all the danger he’s been put in today, it’s the happiest he can ever remember being. 

He doesn’t want that to change. 

***

Of all the ways Todd _could_ have woken up today, he has to admit he hadn’t seen this one coming. 

The tip of the sword is sharp and cold against his throat as he scrambles back, hitting the log and effectively trapping himself against it as he holds his hands up in surrender, blinking the confusing dregs of sleep from his eyes as whoever is holding the sword uses it to tip his head up so he can see them. 

This, Todd realises suddenly, is _not good_.

“Todd Brotzman.” 

It’s not a question, but he finds himself swallowing heavily. Todd has never actually _met_ Farah Black before, but everyone who works in the palace, and plenty beyond that know of her reputation. It had been stupid to try running from her in the first place, and possibly stupider to try again now. “Y- yes?”

“By order of the King I am authorised to place you under arrest for charges of theft, avoidance of capture, and removal of royal properties which may amount to treason.”

Todd splutters, “Wh- _treason_?! I didn’t-”

“You _stole_ an object of great monetary and sentimental value from the King and Queen. In doing so you plotted against their wellbeing, and as such caused detriment to the kingdom as a whole.” Farah looks both murderous and professional, even if Todd doesn’t have the slightest idea how. It’s a direct contrast to how he feels right now, panicky and desperate. 

“Okay I’m not sure it was _plotting_ , it was kind of-”

“Where is it?” She interrupts, looking him up and down and realising he doesn’t appear to have much of anything on him.

“What?”

She presses her sword a little closer. “The _crown._ Where _is_ it?”

“Uh,” Todd laughs, “that’s- kind of complicated, actually.”

She narrows her eyes, opening her mouth to say something, but she’s interrupted before she gets the chance. 

“Um, excuse me?” Dirk asks, yelping when Farah turns instead to point the sword at him. “Um, yes, that’s… rather _pointy_ isn’t it? Well, I suppose-”

“Who _are_ you?” She asks, looking him over and noting the frog on his shoulder with some confusion. 

“Right, of course. My name is Dirk Gently, and _this_ is my friend Mona.” He gestures to her, but Farah doesn’t look any less annoyed by this turn of events. “And you are?”

There’s a moment where she looks like she doesn’t quite know what to say, but she sets her shoulders and grits her teeth. “Farah Black, Captain of the Palace Guard. Are you… with him?” She gestures to Todd who’s still sat on the floor, watching their exchange with wide, worried eyes. 

“Hm, well I suppose that rather depends what you _mean_ by that. You see, Todd here is escorting Mona and I to the kingdom to see the floating lights, and so it would seem that you… _stabbing_ him, would rather limit his ability to carry out that task.”

“I-” she looks from Dirk to Todd, face scrunching into confusion and shaking her head. “You- you do _know_ that he’s a wanted criminal, don’t you?”

“Well _yes_ , but- wait, have you been chasing him this _whole_ time?” Dirk asks, sounding somewhat amazed. “You’ve done a _very_ good job at finding him, I don’t think _anything_ we’ve done so far is something he had planned!”

“Hey! I got us here, didn’t I?” Todd protests, finally pulling himself to his feet even if he’s still holding his hands up and eyeing Farah’s sword warily. 

“If you say so,” Dirk shrugs, grinning in his direction before turning back to Farah. “The thing is, _Farah_ , that I’m… not from around here, and this just so happens to be the most _important_ day of my life. It is absolutely _vital_ that I get to the city, _and_ that Todd takes me to see the lights because, well, he did _promise_. You look like you know how important it is to keep a promise.”

“I- I can’t just _not arrest him_! That’s- that’s _crazy_! He committed _treason_ , which makes him a threat to the kingdom!” 

Dirk’s nose scrunches when he looks at Todd thoughtfully. “ _Is_ he though?”

Farah sighs heavily, and while it’s not a solid agreement it may as well be. He feels like he’s gaining ground at least. “That doesn’t mean I can just _let him go_. Who do you think I am?”

“Oh! No, no I’m not asking you to _not_ arrest him! Just… perhaps delay it? Just for a day! You can come with us, all the way to the lights. Todd won’t run off, will you Todd?” 

Todd shakes his head. “No. I mean- I’d rather not be… stabbed? And Dirk is right you- you really did a great job finding us so… you win I guess?”

“There! We’re all heading back to the kingdom anyway, so we can all just go together. I can see the lights, and then you can…” he swallows, shaking off the uncertainty, “do _whatever_ with Todd, and everyone keeps their promises, _and_ does their jobs, and nobody ends up missing out on their one and only birthday present. That’s me, by the way, it’s my birthday, just in case you were wondering.”

Farah looks between them, and Dirk has the sneaking suspicion she’s weighing up the likelihood of them being able to outsmart her and get away. She must decide it’s not particularly likely, because a few minutes later she sheaths her sword, and points a finger at Todd. 

“I will be _watching_ you.”

“Good!” Dirk grins, either oblivious or uncaring of the way Todd seems halfway to terrified at the threat. “Glad that’s settled. Shall we head on?”

Farah holds Todd’s stare for a good while longer before she inclines her head toward the tree line. “This way. We’re not far out now. You’d better be right about this.”

Dirk is more than happy to follow along, excitement bubbling up in his chest at the thought of being so close to his goal. Todd looks rather paler than he had before, but Dirk just nudges him gently. 

“It’ll be _fun_ , I promise!”

Todd’s glare is withering, but his sigh is more resigned than anything else. “Guess if this is my last day of freedom I’d better enjoy it,” he mutters. 

Dirk doesn’t tell him it will be worth it, but deep down he knows it will be.

***

“ _Do whatever with Todd?_ ” He hisses, keeping a wary eye on Farah as he complains. “I can’t believe- see this? _This_ is why I said no the first time! This is- you’re _unbelievable!”_

Dirk can’t help but be a little offended by Todd’s anger, or- it seems rather more like _fear_ , but it also seems like Todd would object to the use of such a word right now. “You’re welcome for making sure you _didn’t get arrested_ ,” he keeps his voice low to match Todd’s even if he’s not sure why. 

“Yeah, for _now_! What _exactly_ do you think is going to happen when we get to the city?”

Admittedly Dirk hadn’t really thought that far ahead, but he’s not about to tell him that. “Look, she promised she wouldn’t arrest you until _after_ the lights, we have a while to work that out yet!”

His attempt at a reassuring smile doesn’t seem to be working, not when Todd glowers at him. “They’re going to try me for _treason_ , Dirk. Do you know what that means?”

He blinks, searching his brain for an answer. “... Something to do with trees?”

“Wh- _No_! God, of _course_ you don’t know. I can’t believe I let you drag me into this. I don’t want to _die_ just because you want to see some lanterns.”

“Die? I think you’re being a _bit_ dramatic Todd,” he laughs.

Todd side-eyes him, considering the way he seems genuinely surprised at the notion. He doesn’t know exactly how much Dirk knows about the way the world works, but he does know that he understands fear if the never ending list of things to be afraid of he keeps bringing up is anything to go by. None of them are things Todd would consider _particularly_ relevant to everyday life, but then neither is the threat of being tried for treason to most people, and that doesn't stop Todd feeling terrified of that. 

He’s annoyed that Dirk had sold him out so easily, especially without appearing to care for the consequences, but it occurs to him then that Dirk may not even know that’s what he’d done. He _could_ call him out for it. He _could_ explain to him in excruciating detail _exactly_ what they’re going to do to him once they do find him guilty. He _could_ let Dirk know that he’s effectively just sentenced him to death with little more than a few words. But then he glances over at him, still smiling, clearly excited about getting to the city, and he wonders what good it would do. Telling Dirk what could happen won’t save him from it. Explaining all the gory details isn’t going to make Todd feel any better. It might be Todd’s last day of freedom, but it’s Dirk’s first, and as much as he might want to curse him out for handing him over to Farah so easily it’s not like Todd is entirely blameless himself in the whole thing. Ruining both of their days won’t make either of them any happier, and if deciding _not_ to introduce the concept of execution to Dirk will make the day less painful for him that’s at least one kindness he can leave behind, he doesn’t need to drag everyone down with him.

Besides, it would seem Dirk isn’t done making his point yet. 

“And _anyway_ , it’s not _my_ fault you stole a… _thing_ and then broke into my tower! I didn’t even _know_ you then. Those were _your_ choices!”

And what terrible choices they were Todd thinks, kicking at the dirt beneath his feet and refusing to concede the point. Dirk watches him, smile slipping away when Todd doesn’t react. 

“Look. We’ll work something out. Farah seems nice and… _reasonable_. I’m sure it will all work out okay in the end.”

Todd scoffs, still put out despite his resolve to not dampen Dirk’s day to much, but he still doesn’t say anything and Dirk feels himself starting to panic a little. Todd had seemed rather certain when he’d used the word _die_ , but then if Dirk has learned anything in the past day it’s that Todd is rather prone to dramatics when the mood takes him. He thinks somewhat guiltily about the satchel stored away in the pocket of his jacket. There’s nothing stopping him from taking it out right now and giving it to Todd. Nothing except the fact that then he wouldn’t have a reason to stay. 

It’s not that Dirk _believes_ what his father had said, it’s just that… even if Todd _did_ have other reasons to stay, right now he has reasons to _leave_ as well, and Dirk doesn’t want to give him another. Besides, their agreement had been that he gets it back _after_ he’s seen the lights, if he doesn’t give it back until then he’s not breaking his promise. And then if Todd wants to leave and never see him again that’s… fine. Seeing the lights is the most important thing, and once that’s done it’s not like he’ll have anything else to do but go home, and it’s not like Todd could come with him there anyway. 

Especially not when Dirk doesn’t even know if his father will _let_ him come back. 

It’s a sobering thought, one he doesn’t want to contemplate, so instead he just nudges his shoulder into Todd’s, and decides to keep the silence at bay by rambling about the trees. 

***

“ _So_ ,” Farah has been helping them get through the forest in a way that was _far_ more efficient than their earlier attempts, but she’s yet to engage them in any real conversation. Not for a lack of trying, on Dirk’s part at least, but he’s mostly been resigned to talking _at_ her, or conversing with a somewhat moody Todd. It’s safe to say hearing her speak makes him perk up a little, glad for the distraction from his own melancholic thoughts. “How- how long have you known each other?”

“Oh! Well, give or take a few hours I suppose it’s been a whole day now.”

“A- a _day?_ I thought-” she blinks a few times, shaking her head. “It seemed like longer.”

“ _Really_?” The thought that to someone else, he and Todd looked like they’d been friends for a long time is _incredibly_ exciting and he can’t keep the smile off of his face. “I suppose we’re just _really_ good friends.”

“Right, and the… _criminal_ stuff?” 

Dirk shakes his head. “I don’t really know anything about that. I just know that he’s… well. He’s a little _difficult_ but no complaints so far! I think we were _meant_ to meet, you know? It was _perfect_ , and now…” he sighs, wistful but happy, “all of my dreams are coming true.”

“That’s… nice?” She seems uncertain, but it’s not enough to shake Dirk’s confidence. 

“Isn’t it? I can’t _wait_ to see them! It’s going to be _amazing_.”

“You really came all this way just to see the lanterns?” She asks, bemused. 

“Well of _course_! I’ve been staring at them for _years_ , but I’ve never been able to…” he trails off, swallowing heavily as he glances back at Todd. He seems to be lost in thought, but he feels Dirk’s eyes on him soon enough, and when he looks up Dirk meets him with a soft smile. He gets one of his own, however fleeting, in return. “I’ve never had someone to go with before now.”

“Seems like you got lucky then,” she offers, sensing there’s more to it than that. It’s not in her nature to pry though, not into personal matters, and she’s more than happy to leave it be if it means it makes this whole thing easier.

“I think so,” Dirk agrees. He’s just about to hang back, try and talk Todd out of his melancholy, when his attention is pulled by the sound of bells ringing loud and clear, far closer than he could have imagined. “Is that…” 

The moment they clear the treeline is one Dirk thinks he’ll remember for the rest of his life. 

He stops, staring up at the city walls that loom above them, and on up to where the castle sits atop the hill, tiny flags erected atop the spires that flutter in the breeze. There are lights strewn about already, the sound of laughter and market callers, smells he couldn’t _begin_ to try to name, all flooding through him at once. The lights haven’t even started yet, and Dirk already thinks the city is the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen. 

“You okay?” Todd asks, pulling him out of his thought with a soft voice that does very little to quell the happy tears welling up in his eyes. 

“Hm? I- oh, yes. Yes, it’s… it’s _wonderful_!” He smiles, bright enough that for a moment Todd is stunned into silence. It makes his heart trip in his chest, the thought that he’d had some part in putting that expression on Dirk’s face. Todd doesn’t think he’s ever seen anything like it before, but there’s a part of him that wants to be responsible for making it happen again, no matter how small. Truth be told, it’s a little dizzying. 

Eventually he clears his throat, mouth crooking up into his own half-smile. “You want to-” he tilts his head in the direction of the gates, and laughs when Dirk nods so quickly he feels the world spin. 

Todd is still laughing when Dirk grabs him by the arm, all but running up the slope towards the city gates, far too excited to keep himself in check. They leave Farah following behind them, close enough to keep an eye, but far too amused by Dirk’s fervent earnest enthusiasm to want to hold them back. 

She’d promised him the day at least, and she can hold herself to that, even if she can’t quite put her finger on why.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked this chapter please leave a comment! It's pretty much the only kind of payment I get for this so you know, that'd be cool of you <3


	7. Six

Todd stumbles after him, barely able to keep the laughter out of his voice as Dirk all but drags him up the cobbled path to the gates. 

Farah follows, close enough to keep an eye on them but far enough that she isn’t caught up in their… _antics_. She has a reputation to maintain after all, it wouldn’t do to have the townsfolk see her chasing after a wanted criminal who is currently being strung along by… Farah doesn’t really know _who_ Dirk is, but she’s learned enough to know that, despite the evidence he _can_ look after himself at least to some extent, he carries a naivety she’s rarely seen outside of children. It’s not a _bad_ thing per se, but she isn’t irresponsible enough to call it a _good_ one. At best he’s lived a sheltered life, that much is obvious, and despite his… _enthusiastic_ nature she’s found herself somewhat… _intrigued_ by him. Besides, he’s _clearly_ not a flight risk, not when he keeps looking back for her and waving when he spots her. 

It’s nice, in a way. She’s happy to be left to her own devices though. 

Todd is not so lucky. 

“Todd, _look_!” It’s an exclamation that he could swear comes every other second as Dirk buzzes excitedly around the entrance gates like he wants to do, see, taste, smell, and touch everything all at once. 

The novelty of the lantern festival had long since worn off for Todd. In the years he’d worked at the palace it had been the busiest day of the year, and he’d come to almost _dread_ the thing. When they were kids it had been exciting, but Todd had never been a fan of being hemmed in by the sheer amount of people who descended on the city, it had felt too close and it was too easy to lose Amanda in the crowds. Dirk either doesn’t have a problem with it, or he just hasn’t even noticed, because as soon as they get past the gate he makes his way over to the nearest stall and marvels, wide eyed, over the sparkling jewellery to be found there. 

“Oh.” The word escapes him in a breathy little gasp. “Isn’t it _beautiful_?” 

Expensive, is the first word that springs to Todd’s mind, being sold here for _far_ more than it’s worth. Usually he’d complain about it, but the sheer delight on Dirk’s face is enough to make him hesitate. 

“Sure,” he agrees with a soft shrug. “There’s a lot of… pretty stuff around here. It gets busy.” At the mention of _more_ Dirk’s eyes light up, and Todd can’t help the smile it brings to his own face, small but genuine. “C’mon. Just… watch out. People like to pickpocket here.” Not that he thinks Dirk _has_ anything to steal, but it’s better to warn him than not. He draws his jacket a little tighter around himself for good measure as Todd leads him up the hill. “The best stuff is up top.”

Getting to the main square isn’t exactly _easy_. Dirk keeps running off in different directions, enchanted equally by the large stained glass windows and the tiny flags that adorn every building, street, and stall as far as the eye can see. He seems to be charming stallholders somehow, an older woman fawns over his jacket, leaving him blushing rather comically and stuttering as he tries to work his way out of the conversation without offending her, only to scream when he runs into a chicken and gets squawked at for his mistake. Todd tries his hardest not to laugh, but the combination of delight and terror Dirk seems to be experiencing over the most mundane things makes it too much not to. 

“You done attacking the chickens?” he asks when Dirk rights himself, smoothing his hands down his jacket as Todd watches him with an amused raised eyebrow. 

“I was _not_ attacking them. If anything _they_ attacked _me_. And I’ve survived worse than that so really I’m…” he flounders, huffing when he can’t find the words he wants. “They’re very _flappy,_ ” is what he settles on, flush still dusted rosy pink over his cheekbones. 

Todd swallows and looks away. 

“Yeah, well. The castle is chicken free.” He tilts his head in that direction before starting back up the hill. 

“You promise?” Dirk asks, scrambling to keep up with him, deciding for some reason Todd can’t even _begin_ to fathom, but _certainly_ isn’t going to object to, that the best course of action is to loop his arm through Todd’s as they climb the cobbled street. 

“I-” it’s thrown him. The arm-linking, not the chickens, and he can _feel_ the flush creeping up his neck when he catches sight of Farah tailing them to their left, and her inquisitively raised eyebrow. “Yeah. Promise.”

Once Dirk is holding onto him, despite everything that brings with it, getting to the square is far easier. Todd is thankful for it, not only because he knows from experience the lower town can get filled up too quickly for his liking, but because having Dirk where he can see him means he can glare at anyone who tries to scam him into something. It’s like he has a glowing sign above his head that attracts all manner of shills, trying to sell him things that aren’t worth the effort taken to make them. Unfortunately for the sellers Dirk is too busy staring at, well, _everything_ with complete, undisguised joy, and doesn’t have _time_ to get trapped into conversation. 

Todd only lets go of him when they reach the top. 

He expects Dirk to go running into the crowd, straight into the middle of it all, but instead he makes his way over to the walls overlooking the kingdom below, almost comically taken aback by it all. 

“You can see the whole _world_ from up here!” 

He never could from his tower, never had a view like _this_ , never saw anything but trees and sky, all so far out of his reach. He _certainly_ never saw any _people_. It must show on his face somehow, because Todd gentles as he stands next to him, looking out over the kingdom. 

“I mean, it’s not quite the whole _world_ but-” he shrugs. “I always thought it was pretty nice up here.”

Dirk remains uncharacteristically quiet for a moment, taking it all in. Todd is just about to ask if he’s okay, when the sound of music starts up behind them and Dirk turns, wide-eyed towards him. 

“What _is_ that?” He doesn’t wait for an answer, running off to follow the sound, and Todd can only roll his eyes as he sits up on the wall to watch him from the higher vantage point. At least like this there’s only so far he can go. 

“He’s… enthusiastic.” 

The sound of Farah’s voice makes Todd jump, and he grabs onto the stone to stop himself falling backwards. Her lips quirk up the smallest amount but it’s gone before Todd can comment on it.

“Yeah,” he offers instead. “He’s…” Todd finds himself sighing softly at the thought of all the things Dirk _is_ , all the ways he’d given Todd a reason to care about something other than himself. It’s barely been two days, and he already knows Dirk has done more for him in that time than anyone has in years. The thought of him going back to that tower, of _staying_ there, is almost more unsettling than what’s bound to happen to Todd himself. “You know he’s… different, right?”

“What do you mean by different?” She doesn’t sound accusatory, or even teasing, just curious. Todd thinks she gets it.

“You know. He’s just… not like other people.” In more ways than she knows. Todd isn’t about to tell her about the magic, not when Dirk had seemed so worried about it, but he still feels somewhere like he _should_. 

“He seems… _sheltered.”_ She offers, clearly trying to be diplomatic about the whole thing. He doesn’t trust her, not _really_ , but maybe enough for this. 

“When- you know, after all… _this_ and you… _arrest_ me, do you think you could-” he swallows, shaking his head at the reminder. “I found him in a tower. From what I can tell, from what- he told me he’d been there his whole life. Never left. But he wanted to see the lanterns and so-” he shrugs, watching Dirk flitter from stall to stall as he spots him in the crowd. “He keeps saying he’s going to go back and I guess, if he _does_ , if that’s… what he _wants_ , he’s going to need someone to take him. He’s not gonna make it back through the woods on his own.”

It makes him feel uncomfortable, like he’s admitting to something he doesn’t want to admit to _himself_ let alone to Farah. She’s quiet for a moment, contemplative and confused all at once. 

“His whole… he’s been locked in a tower his whole life? I mean… it might _explain_ some things but…” she looks out into the crowd, spotting Dirk there too. He’s currently deep in conversation with a group of children who appear delighted when the frog he’s holding turns into a chameleon, and again when she changes into a butterfly. One of them dumps a flower crown rather unceremoniously on his head, and Dirk looks absolutely enamoured with it. Todd can’t hold back his smile. 

“I don’t know. That’s what he said, that nobody had ever found him before. Just him and his father and… Mona. Whatever is going on there. I haven’t asked.” 

Farah’s frown deepens as she turns to look at him. “How is that _possible_? I know every inch of this kingdom, we scoured the whole forest in the great search, there can’t just… _be_ a tower we’ve never even seen!”

Todd huffs, annoyed more at his own lack of answers than at her questions. “I have no idea, I just know that… he _shouldn’t_ go back there, but if he wants to then… I need you to take him when I’m not- y’know. Available. That’s where the crown is, if nothing else.”

“I- you _left_ it there?” She sounds outraged at the very idea of it. “What kind of _irresponsible_ -”

“I didn’t have a choice!”

“What do you _mean_ you didn’t have a choice!”

“Dirk- I mean. I’m only here because he told me I’d only get it back if I… _accompanied_ him here and back. Like a guide. He put it somewhere, it seemed easier than trying to find it.”

There’s a long silence in which Todd can feel Farah’s eyes on him, and pointedly doesn’t look at her. 

“You were blackmailed. By Dirk Gently.”

The judgement is clear in her voice, as is the amusement. Todd side-eyes her with a half-hearted glare. “He’s… sneakier than he looks.”

“I’m _sure_.”

He doesn’t have time to retort, because Dirk is bounding up to them with the biggest smile on his face. He has a smudge of pastel chalk on his cheek and dusted up his sleeves, clearly having been roped into some of the drawings that tend to be strewn over the streets at this time of year. On his head there’s a lopsided flower crown, and he’s clutching two more in his hands. 

“Isn’t this just the _best thing ever_?! They put this on me,” he gestures to his head, as if it isn’t enough to be the first thing anyone would notice about him. “And I got some for you too!”

Farah’s eyes go wide, shaking her head a little as she looks at the woven string of sunflowers he holds out to her.

“I- I’m not allowed? To wear things like that. When I’m on duty, I mean. The uniform is… _very_ strict and-” Dirk’s face only drops the _tiniest_ bit, but it’s enough to make her feel bad, and she sighs heavily, reaching out to take it from him. “How about-” she plucks one of the flowers from it, tucking it behind her ear, clearly not entirely comfortable with the arrangement, but more than she would be with the whole crown. It seems to be enough for Dirk. 

“Oh! _Wonderful,_ Farah, you look lovely!” He pats her on the arm, and she looks rather flustered for a moment, crossing her arms over her chest defensively. Todd is enjoying seeing her so wrongfooted, until Dirk turns to him with the same buzzing excitement he’d reappeared with. 

“ _You_ can wear one though, can’t you?” 

He’s right of course, there’s nothing _stopping_ Todd from wearing one, not that he _believes_ there’s anything _actually_ stopping Farah from wearing one, but he certainly doesn’t have an excuse like she does. 

“I- I mean _yeah_ , technically. But-” and it’s the _but_ that makes Dirk’s face fall, tilting his head inquisitively and looking very much like he’s trying _not_ to let it show on his face that Todd is about to disappoint him. Any other time he’d brush it off, say no and leave it at that. He shouldn’t _care_ that Dirk looks… _upset_ about it before he’s even said anything, but for some reason he _does_. His eyes flicker between the crown and Dirk’s face for a moment, sighing to himself as he jumps down from his perch atop the wall. “Go on then.”

Dirk’s face lights back up almost instantly, and the rush of warmth that floods through Todd at the knowledge that he’d _caused_ that is almost enough to make up for the fact that he’s subjecting himself to this. Dirk is gentle when he places it on his head though, readjusting it a few times and only letting go once he’s entirely happy with the placement. 

“You look…” Dirk swallows, and Todd fears the creeping pink on Dirk’s face is mirrored on his own, the feeling of his fingers in his hair not having quite been forgotten. “Very nice. It suits you. Or, well. They’re blue and that matches…” their eyes meet, and Dirk’s cheeks flush even darker, “... your tunic! Obviously. That’s very… blue. Isn’t it?”

Todd opens his mouth, only to close it again, eyebrows bending into some kind of uncertain expression that he can’t wipe off his face. He feels… embarrassed? No, that’s not right. _Flustered_ is probably a better word, but it’s not one he wants to entertain right now. “Right,” is what he says eventually. His shirt _is_ blue, and if Todd contemplated the alternative he may well spontaneously combust.

“It’s very sweet.” Farah interrupts, teasing and biting back her smile. Todd scowls at her, but he doesn’t get chance to argue back when Dirk gasps loudly and takes him by the hand, dragging him off in pursuit of whatever he’d spotted this time. 

Farah waves at him as they go, and he, childishly, sticks his tongue out at her in return. Wearing a flower crown is an easy way to make Dirk happy, and this is _about_ making Dirk happy, so he can put up with it for a few more hours until he never has to do it again. 

Or at least that’s what he’ll tell himself. Todd and denial are old friends by now, he can admit he may call on it more than he should.

***

Dirk has never seen so much _muchness_ in one place. Or at all, for that matter, but he can hardly be bothered with specifics now when there’s so much to _do._ It seems like every second he’s being pulled in a different direction, things that glitter and shine in the sunlight, things that smell sweet and fruity or rich and warm, there’s _sound_ like he’s never heard before, hands beating out rhythms on handheld drums, fingers plucking at strings and making the air around them sing. There’s _people_ , so _many_ people, laughing and singing and pushing and shoving and shouting and dancing and painting and playing and there’s _so_ much going on it’s almost enough to make him dizzy with it. An explosion of colour, light, _life_ sudden and vibrant in a way he’d _never_ known was possible. His father had certainly never told him of _anything_ like this, and a small, tiny part of him understands why. If he’d known, the yearning in his chest that had only grown with each passing year to _finally_ see the lanterns would have been impossible to resist. 

In the end it had been anyway, and Dirk can’t help the bitterness that tinges the memory of his father telling him about his visits to the city. The dangers he’d described along the way. 

But he’s not here now, there are no walls or warnings to stop him, just the sunlight in the endless sky, the streets of the city brimming with life, and the warmth of Todd’s wrist underneath his fingertips as he drags him through the crowd with giddy enthusiasm. 

“ _Look!”_ He exclaims, finally coming to a stop and pointing out the small circle of entertainers people have gathered around. “That man is _breathing fire_!” It’s enrapturing, nothing he’d ever even _imagined_ before. He’d read stories of dragons of course, but dragons weren’t _men_ and even if they were _seeing_ it in front of his eyes was an _entirely_ different thing. None of the adventures he’d _read_ about even remotely compared to the one he’s in now.

When he turns back to Todd his eyes are bright, shining with wonder at the sight before them, but Todd isn’t watching the firebreather at all. Instead he seems to have been watching Dirk. He swallows, looking away when he’s caught out and rubbing at the back of his neck nervously. Dirk frowns, tilting his head in question. 

“Is everything okay?”

“I-” Todd looks confused for a moment, before a small smile makes its way onto his face. “Yeah. Yes everything’s… wait here, okay? I’ll be back in a minute. Promise.”

Dirk assess him for a moment, before deciding the smile is in fact genuine, and nodding his agreement. Todd smiles again before he turns away, Dirk watches the blue of his tunic bobbing through the crowd until he loses sight of him. 

The entertainers have dispersed by now, and people are back to milling around him. He feels suddenly lonely, lost and uncertain like he’d forgotten until now that he has no idea how to _do_ this. How to be in a world so big and scary and vibrant and beautiful. He thinks of his father, thinks of being here with _him_ , whenever he’d imagined it his father had been the one to take him and it almost makes him feel… sad, that he’s not here now. Guilty, for leaving him alone and worried as he’s out enjoying himself, doing the one thing he’d always been told not to do. 

The thought subsides when Mona flutters up to his face, seemingly sensing his melancholy. She flaps a few times, delicate wings painted with every colour imaginable. Dirk has only seen a handful of butterflies before, but she’s easily the most stunning. 

“Well, aren’t _you_ dressed for the occasion?” He laughs when she twirls in the air, reassured at least that she was still here with him. She seems to want to show him something though, dancing forwards before circling back, a little farther each time. Todd had said to wait here, but he doubts she wants to take him far, so instead he lets her lead him, following along a few short paces until she lands delicately on the wall next to a painting. 

He realises after a moment that it’s not a painting at all, instead a picture made up of thousands of shards of glass, filled in with precious stones and laced with gold. He steps back so he can see it properly, and for some reason he can’t begin to fathom, the sight of it makes his breath catch in his chest. 

It’s two people, dressed in what looks like expensive fabrics and delicate jewellery. They’re smiling, he notes, happy as he’s ever seen two people be, and between them they’re holding an equally happy looking baby. He’s not sure what it is that captivates him so much, but he finds himself staring, almost trance-like, as people lay flowers at the feet of the picture. It only strikes him a few moments later that the crown perched atop the baby’s head is the one currently hidden in his jacket pocket. It feels important, like there’s a way those things _should_ add up, but Dirk doesn’t have the first idea _how_. Whatever it was that had drawn him to the lanterns, that made seeing them his _only_ dream all of those years, that made him feel like it was so important he had to leave his tower to get here, is racing in his chest again stronger than ever. For all it feels like he’s been given another piece of a puzzle, he can’t help but wonder if it’s only pushed the answer further out of reach. 

“Dirk?” 

The sound of Todd’s voice startles him out of it, and he jumps a few steps back, turning from the picture to Todd with wide-eyes for a moment before managing to right himself properly. 

“Todd! Hello! Where did you get to?”

Todd is frowning bemusedly at him, and he glances at the picture for a second before turning back to Dirk. “I uh-” he looks away, clearing his throat and steeling himself before holding out a small paper bag. “Happy Birthday?”

Dirk stares. For a moment it feels like it’s all he _can_ do, because the only person who had ever gotten anything for him before was his father, and that had never felt… like _this_. 

He does the only thing he can think to do that makes sense in the moment, and throws himself at Todd. 

Todd lets out a sound of surprise, knocked out of him when he somehow manages to catch Dirk _without_ dropping the bag on the floor. Dirk has his arms around his neck, and he’s about to let go, knowing from experience that people _rarely_ liked to be hugged at all, especially not for this long, when Todd does the most surprising thing he’s done yet, and wraps his arms around his waist to hold him there. 

“You-” Dirk can feel the tears in his voice, but they’re good tears, he thinks. Happy. “You _remembered._ ”

Todd huffs out a laugh, and Dirk would be offended if he had room left to feel it. “It’s… sort of the entire reason we’re here.” He’s teasing, but fond, and when Dirk goes to pull out of the hug he lets him go without protest. “You okay?”

“I- yes. Yes I’m-” He moves to wipe the tears from his cheeks, smiling all the while, and it must make quite the picture but Todd doesn’t seem to mind. If anything he looks happy too. “What is it?”

“Open it and find out.” He rolls his eyes when Dirk all but snatches the bag out of his hand, opening the paper carefully and peering inside. “It’s not much but… I thought you might like something to remember… _this_ by. Everyone has one.”

Dirk draws the small piece of fabric out of the bag, purple and triangular, emblazoned with a golden sun. He’s seen them strewn all over the town, children waving them on sticks and women using them to tie back their hair. It feels like a _part_ of something, infinitely precious in his hands. He’d never thought something so simple would be enough to cause the surge of emotion welling up in him now. 

“Thank you,” he offers, small and shaky as he does his best to swallow past the lump in his throat, running the flag through his fingers before tucking it safely away into his pocket.

“And…” he pulls out the second item, and breaks the reverence of the moment when he all but squeals in delight. “ _Todd!”_

“Everyone has cake on their birthday.” Todd states, like it’s the only known truth of the universe, but he does so whilst looking _incredibly_ pleased with himself. The look turns to something close to concern as he watches Dirk shove half of it in his mouth at once, making no secret of how good it tastes. “I don’t think you’re supposed to-” he realises halfway through speaking that it’s too late, shaking his head with a laugh as Dirk licks powdered sugar off his fingers with no small amount of enthusiasm. “ _Alright_.”

“This is the best birthday _ever_!” He announces, and Todd secretly thinks he probably doesn’t have much to compare it to, but smiles all the same. 

“So uh, you found the mural?” He asks, tilting his head towards the wall and bringing Dirk’s attention back to the picture. 

He considers it a moment, taking a step closer. “Who are they?” 

“ _Who-_ ” Todd cuts himself off, staring up at the picture himself when he realises Dirk is serious. It’s baffling to him that he _doesn’t_ know, but then he supposes with the way he’d lived his life there was little reason to. “It’s the lost prince,” he tells him gently, sensing that Dirk has softened from the previous moment. “That’s… what this whole thing is for. The King and Queen had- well, _found_ I guess, but they had a baby, the prince, and they took him in, raised him, everything parents _would_ do, until his first birthday. Someone- some people say he disappeared, but uh, officially, someone broke into the castle and took him away. They looked for _years_ , still do sometimes, but they never found him, so now every year on his birthday, they send out the lanterns. It’s kind of a vigil? But it’s meant to be that… he’ll see them one day and come home.”

It’s a sad story, and not one Dirk has heard before. There’s something about it that makes him ache, something that makes _him_ feel lost, and he reaches out to place his hand against the stone, looking up at them. 

“That’s the thing you stole. The crown.” Todd doesn’t say anything, and Dirk supposes it’s not really a question. “Why?”

There’s nothing for a moment, and then Todd sighs heavily. “It wasn’t my idea. But I guess I thought… I just thought I could fix things? I just… ran. The money would have fixed a _lot_ , maybe? I don’t-” he shakes his head. “I guess I just make bad decisions.”

Dirk watches the light dancing over the stones, the way the crown on the wall shimmers, the smiles of the family. Up close he can see the tiny fractures in the picture, the flecks of gold that have worn away, the places where the colours are fading. It’s been here for a long time. 

“Well,” he says eventually, turning away from the picture with a smile. “I don’t think he’d mind, not like he’s got much use for it is it?”

Todd’s laugh is small and surprised, but it takes some of the tension out of his shoulders, and Dirk can’t help but be pleased about that. “Don’t let Farah hear you say that.”

“I won’t tell if you don’t.” The way Todd looks at him makes his stomach flutter with _something_. The idea of a secret kept between them seems somewhat _thrilling_ in the fading light. 

Whatever the feeling is, it hangs between them for a long moment, shimmering and silent, full of promise, before it’s broken with the sudden sound of music in the air. 

“What-” Dirk looks around, bewildered, as people flood to the square. Todd groans, rolling his eyes. 

“I _hate_ this part.”

“What part?” He stands up on his toes, trying to get a better look as people start joining hands by the music stand. 

“ _Dancing_.”

Todd all but spits the word out, and Dirk frowns in confusion. “Who doesn’t like _dancing_?” He’s never done it like this before, never with other people, but he certainly can’t imagine anyone having as much disdain for it as Todd seems to. “It’s fun! It’s all… _moving_!”

“Yeah,” Todd snorts. “I’m just not… It’s not something I do.”

“But it’s _fun_!” Dirk reiterates, as if Todd might have missed that vital point. “ _And_ -” he draws himself up, and Todd can _already_ feel himself wavering, “it’s my _birthday_.”

“I-” Todd holds his hands up, looking around wildly for some way out of this. “I’m not _stopping_ you! You can… go and do it, if you want, it’s just- not me.”

Dirk narrows his eyes. It’s not an expression Todd feels hopeful about. “Do you know how to have fun, Todd?”

He feels oddly offended, if also confused, eyebrows drawing up like he’s not sure whether to get defensive or not. “I mean- you know. Yeah. In my own… just not like this!”

“Well then,” Dirk says brightly, like Todd’s just proved something, wrapping his hand around his wrist for the second time that day before Todd can protest. “Maybe _I_ can show _you_ something for once!”

Todd, briefly, considers pointing out that he’d done well enough at that when he’d shown him his _magic jacket_ , but he doesn’t get chance before Dirk is dragging him off over to the music. 

“Dirk!” 

“Come _on_ , Todd!”

Todd lets himself be pulled, but looks around wildly like he might find a way out of this. He meets Farah’s eyes across the courtyard, and feels the brief flare of hope that’s promptly extinguished when the corners of her mouth turn up into an amused smile and she leans back against the wall like she’s intending to _watch_. 

Somehow, Todd feels betrayed. 

There’s no time to worry about that though, not when Dirk is dragging them both into line with the others as the music changes into something new. Todd knows for a fact that Dirk will never have done anything like this before, kind of hates that he _has_ , even if it was just with his sister when he was younger, and despite the panic in his eyes as he stands across from Dirk, the two rows facing each other, he finds the time to warn him; “you just have to go with it.”

There’s _some_ small satisfaction to be found in the way the confusion on Dirk’s face morphs into surprise when the music starts up properly and the person he’s linked hands with pulls him away. Despite everything Todd finds himself laughing.

The square devolves into a whirlwind of colours, practiced and clumsy steps alike spinning their way around each other as they link arms with one partner, swapping to another a moment later, constantly moving and changing and flooding the courtyard with life. Todd spots Dirk in the rush a few times, they’re thrown back together for the briefest moment, fingers barely brushing before they’re pulled away again, back out into the flurry of dancers as the music gets faster and faster and they’re pulled along with it like the tide, spinning and twirling until the whole world is a blur, the air filled with giddy laughter and shouts of joy as they’re passed from hand to hand without the chance to even _see_ who their partner _is_ , instead caught entirely in the moment, music building to a swell, pressing in from all sides and encouraging them on, until finally, just when it feels like the entire world is spinning with them it stops, the abruptness causing most partners to stumble into each other. Todd doesn’t quite manage to catch himself in time, and he finds himself suddenly nose to nose with Dirk, both of their faces flushed with laughter and trying to catch their breath. His eyes are wild, overflowing with giddy excitement and Todd thinks he can’t look much different himself, except for the moment he can hardly care, transfixed entirely by the hush that’s settled in the wake of the celebration, and the seemingly endless blue of Dirk’s eyes. 

Dirk isn’t much better, for his part. His heart is still racing, chest rising and falling rapidly as he tries to catch his breath and really _not_ think about how they’re standing so close they’re almost pressed chest to chest. He wonders what that would feel like, how warm Todd must be right now, skin blushing pink with exertion and perhaps something _else_. It’s the happiest he’s ever seen him, mouth turned up in a helpless smile, hair curling just the slightest bit around his ears, but he can hardly look away when Todd, eyes so bright and clear, only made more so by the dark lashes that frame them, is holding his gaze like everything around them will fall apart the moment it breaks. 

The world around them has fallen away, and for a moment it feels like they’re standing alone in the middle of the square, with nothing to do but _this_. 

When the bells sound, ringing out and echoing around them, they both jump back as if they’ve been burned. It takes them a moment, between clearing their throats and shuffling their feet, but soon enough Todd is tilting his head towards the lake a little sheepishly. 

“C’mon.” 

It’s only then that Dirk realises the sky is growing dark, dusk settling over the city like a warm blanket, and bringing a trembling sense of anticipation to Dirk’s chest as he follows Todd down to the harbour. 

“Where are we going?” He asks eventually, a little concerned that their path is leading them _away_ from the city, down to the quieter part of the docks. 

“I uh-” he glances over at the end of the walkway where Farah is following them down, catching up to them as they reach the water’s edge. “I figured you’d probably want the best view. So-” he gestures to the boats, and Dirk’s eyes light up.

“Oh _Todd_ that’s wonderful!” He grins, Todd feeling a rush of pride at having made the right decision. “Are you coming too Farah?”

Her hand automatically goes to the hilt of her sword as she eyes the boat, something wary in her eyes that Dirk can’t quite pinpoint but Todd places as fear. 

“It’s… rather _difficult_. I mean the _fighting_ , in a boat. I’m meant to be protecting things! There’s- there’s nothing out _there_ to protect people from so I’d better just… wait here? You can go. You have to come _back_ -” She glances pointedly at Todd, who promptly rolls his eyes. “But I think I’ll just… wait here.”

“Are you sure?” Todd asks, knowing he’s hit the right mark when she narrows her eyes at him. Dirk doesn’t seem to notice her discomfort. 

“You’re _more_ than welcome to! But if you think it would be better to wait here then I won’t argue. You’re the expert, after all!” 

She seems to soften a little in the face of Dirk’s sincerity. “I’ll wait here. Thank you.” This time there’s an air of finality to her tone, even if it is gentler, and Todd sighs as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out another paper bag. 

“It’s a cake.” He says before she can ask, a peace offering of sorts. “For Dirk’s birthday.”

“Oh.” Her expression morphs from wariness to surprise as she takes the bag from him. “I… assume you _paid_ for this?”

Todd has the audacity to look offended. “Of course I-” he cuts himself off, setting his feet as he goes for sarcasm instead. “ _No_ , I remember, I _definitely_ stole it.”

Farah stares at him for a moment. “I have a sword,” she states, as if he needs reminding. “I will _use_ it.”

It’s not a genuine threat though, far from it, and by now Dirk has managed to climb into the boat, by some miracle without falling into the lake. So Todd lets it go, smiling at her as he climbs in after Dirk and takes up the oars. 

“Enjoy the show,” he calls back to her, before pushing them off the dock and out onto the lake, watching the way Dirk dips his hands into the water with undisguised fondness. 

Whatever happens afterwards, he hopes Dirk thinks the night is worth it.

***

They row out with the other boats, only slowing when they’re far enough out that it’s just them on the open water, the quiet of the night settling around their shoulders. For a while they just sit together, watching the sun set behind the palace, and Todd does his best not to think about how this could be the last sunset he ever sees. Of all the mistakes he’s ever made this has to be the stupidest, but as he glances over at Dirk he wonders if even this has an upside. 

His expression softens when he sees him, staring longingly up at the sky. He’d been excited before, but now he seems almost worried, tracing the tip of his finger over the surface of the water. 

“Are you okay?” His voice is soft, but enough to break the silence, earning him a sideways glance from Dirk before he sighs heavily, shoulders slumping in defeat. 

“I’m… _terrified_ ,” he admits, and Todd can’t help but frown uncertainly at that. 

“ _Why_?” 

It takes him a moment to answer, clearly thinking over his words, and Todd knows enough to know that means whatever he says, it’s going to be serious. 

“I’ve been… I’ve been looking out of a window my whole life, and I’ve never really- All that time I was just _dreaming_ about what it might feel like to _be_ here, to actually _see_ those lights rise in the sky and- and _know_. Know _something-_ anything! I never… there’s a whole _world_ out here, and I never dreamed of _anything_ else. Just this. And-” he swallows, dragging his eyes back over to the palace, silhouetted in the night sky. “What if it… _isn’t_ everything I always thought it would be?”

Todd can hear the worry in his voice, and somewhere he thinks he understands. He can’t imagine only ever having wanted something as simple as _this_ , but he knows what it’s like to want something more than _anything_ else in the world, and he knows how it feels when it doesn’t work out. But it’s nearly impossible for him to think of anything that's happened these past few days as a disappointment, and there’s no way when Dirk has wanted this so badly, that he can see this being one either. 

“It will be.” It’s a promise, one of the only promises he feels confident making. It will be worth it, for both of them.

Dirk smiles, a little flicker on his face as he turns to him, searching Todd’s expression for something as he fidgets with his fingers. “And… what if it _is_?” he sounds vulnerable, something in his voice making Todd’s chest ache. “What if it’s everything I dreamed it would be? What if it’s… _perfect_?” he shakes his head helplessly. “What do I do then?”

Because somewhere along the way the question of what to do next had started to arise. It shouldn’t have, the plan was always to go back home, back to his tower, because this would be enough. But now, here, out on the lake with the night settling in, watching Todd in the half light, he wonders if it _will_ be. 

Todd sighs, shrugging one shoulder in that way that Dirk is so fond of as he smiles softly at him. “I guess- I guess that makes you lucky. You’ll get to... find a new dream.”

Dirk finds himself smiling, the urge to reach out and take Todd’s hand feels almost overwhelming, like he wants to tether them together and solidify this moment forever. But before he can reach for him he spots the first glimmer of light out of the corner of his eye, gasping as he turns back towards the city, following the single point of light as it drifts upwards, and then scrambling up to the head of the boat as the lights grow throughout the city, slowly bringing the darkness to life. 

The boat rocks heavily with the sudden movement, but Dirk barely notices it, enraptured as he is when the lanterns start to rise. At first there’s only a handful, following the first light up, but in the next few minutes more and more of them start to float up from the streets, so bright it’s like watching the sun rise again, a thousand flickers of flame against an inky black sky. 

His eyes are wide, wonderous and tear filled as he watches, leaning as far as he can over the bow of the boat without falling in, face turned up towards the heavens. He’s watched the lights for years, yearning to be closer, dreaming about being right here, and in the moment it feels like everything makes sense. Like he’s finally come to life after years and _years_ of waiting. Like he was always _meant_ to be here. Like he never wants to be anywhere else. 

The lights keep growing, the nearby boats letting off their own, and the ones from the city starting to drift outwards as well as upwards, like they’re bringing the stars to them. Dirk is so caught in the moment he forgets he isn’t alone, until Todd clears his throat behind him and he turns, almost apologetic about having forgotten him, but his breath catches in his throat before he can say anything about it at the sight of him holding his own lanterns. Two of them, already lit, casting his face in a warm golden glow. 

Dirk doesn’t think he’s ever seen a sight so beautiful, and it feels like his heart is about to burst as he makes his way back to his seat to face him, not even _trying_ to look less excited about it than he is. 

It’s the thought, no, the _knowledge_ , that even if they _had_ made it here, his father wouldn’t do _anything_ like what Todd has done for him today- and _certainly_ nothing like _this_ , that makes him so sure of following through with the decision he didn’t realise he’d already made. 

“I… have something for you too.” He tells him before Todd can get any words out, watching the confused furrow of his brow as he reaches into the hidden pocket of his jacket and pulls the satchel out of the impossible space, holding onto it nervously. “I should have given it to you before but…” he shakes his head, eyes flickering uncertainly like he’s not sure how Todd will react. “I was- well, I was just _scared_ that it would- that _you_ would-” he sighs, holding it out to him with as much surety as he can manage. “I’m not scared anymore. Not… not of this. You know?”

Todd can admit that somewhere, deep down, he feels a little betrayed at the thought of Dirk having had the satchel this whole time, but even that feeling which would have been so strong not that long ago is eclipsed entirely in the face of _this_. The way his heart feels like it’s going to beat out of his chest, the way the light catches on Dirk’s hair like it’s trying to reveal his secret for him. The way he’s watching him, eyes wide and open, earnest in a way Todd hasn’t had anyone be with him for a long time. Dirk is holding out the one thing Todd had thought could solve all of his problems, fix his entire _life_ , and in this moment he couldn’t think of anything less important. 

He reaches out to gently push the satchel back towards him, shaking his head slightly. Of all the things he feels right now, scared isn’t one of them. 

“Yeah,” he admits, so soft it almost gets lost on the breeze. “I think… I think I’m starting to.”

Dirk smiles, and the lights surrounding them glitter in his eyes. It’s almost too much to look at him, so instead he hands him one of the lanterns, watching the awe on his face as he takes it from him. There’s a moment where Dirk simply stares at the lantern like he can’t believe he’s holding one in his hands after all this time, but it hardly lasts a second before they both reach up to let them go, watching as they twirl upwards and away from them to join the others, shining among them like they’ve made their way home. 

The lanterns are flickering around them, dipping down to touch the water and dancing by their heads, but Todd can’t take his eyes off of Dirk’s face as he watches them. There’s an innocence to it in a way, a pure, delighted, awe-struck happiness Todd has never seen outside of children, and even then not like this. He wonders how many people get to see a dream coming true, how many people get to play a part in making that happen, wonders if there’s _anyone_ more deserving than Dirk. He can hardly think about his _own_ ideas, of fixing his life, of getting everything back to normal. He thinks it’s possible they’ll _never_ be fixed, and for the first time he wonders if that would be _okay_. If it would be better, _braver_ to let go of the past and let things be, if he could find something new to move on to. Something better.

Dirk is shining almost as brightly as the lights that cast him in such a warm glow, catching in his lashes and along his nose, lighting up his eyes and reflecting the joy found there back out into the world. He’s beautiful like this, Todd thinks. Bright and shining and _hopeful_. The kind of thing he could quite happily see every day for the rest of his life. If this is his last free night, the last memory he has to make, he can’t think of any better way to spend it.

Dirk rests his hand on the edge of the boat, just enough to lean out and push one of the lanterns back up off the water, and when he sits back Todd reaches forwards, heart in his throat as he takes it. Dirk turns wide, curious eyes on him, flickering between their hands and his face, and Todd swallows his nerves down as best he can. 

“I- I’m glad. That you… dragged me out here with you. Asked me to come, I mean. You’re wo- it’s been… wonderful. I’m…” he shakes his head with a soft sigh, cursing his inability to get the right words when he needs them. It turns out he doesn’t need them, not when Dirk turns his hand in his so he can interlock their fingers, squeezing gently as he smiles, soft and earnest in the golden light. 

“I’m glad you found me, Todd. I wouldn’t be here without you.”

The sincerity in his voice is almost enough to set him off, heart tripping over itself in his chest. “I- I think you would have found a way. Without me. Eventually.” 

There’s a fondness in Dirk’s eyes then, it spreads across his face as he shakes his head the smallest amount. “Maybe,” he agrees. “But I wouldn’t _want_ to.”

It feels like his head is spinning, stomach twisting itself into knots as he watches Dirk’s face, and is watched in return. The lanterns are still rising around them, starting to die out at the highest point far above their heads, and Todd wants so much to _do_ something, but he’s not sure he can find the strength to do it, to start something new, or maybe reach the end of their journey, when he knows the first time could be the last. 

He reaches out anyway, cupping Dirk’s cheek in his hand and marvelling at the way it makes his eyes flutter closed. He nuzzles into it, just a little, and he’s reminded of what waits for Dirk at the end of all this if he chooses to go home. For a moment he wants to tell him to _stay_ , just stay here in this, with him. They could run away together, Farah is waiting back on the banks, there’s nothing stopping them from going. But he knows deep down they couldn’t live like that, that it would mean abandoning everything else, that it would pull Dirk down into a life just as limited, just as trapped as before. Todd knows he doesn’t deserve that, but more than anything he just wants to put things _right_. Committing more wrongs is the _last_ thing on his mind, and he wonders if it would be wrong right now to lean in and kiss him, warm and soft in the lantern light. 

Before he can, he catches sight of something, a glowing green lamp on the shore not too far from them. Then, instead of ignoring it and leaning in closer like so desperately _wants_ to, he makes the mistake of looking. 

He must freeze, because Dirk opens his eyes, watching his face with furrowed brows as tension coils through his body, feeling like he’s been doused in cold water when he sees them. Dorian and Gordon, grinning too wide to pretend they haven’t seen him too.

“Is everything okay?” Dirk asks, worried as he sets his hand over Todd’s where it still rests on his cheek, light and reassuring. 

“I-” he watches as they walk away into the woods, but he knows they aren’t going too far, not when they think he has something they want. “I- yes. Yeah everything is-” his eyes flicker between the shoreline and the satchel. It’s wrong, he doesn’t want them here, not _now,_ but it’s an opportunity he might never have again. The crown is right there, and that’s all they want, if he _gives_ it to them then they’d have no reason to come after him. No reason to come after _Dirk_. It’s as good an out as he’d ever get. He swallows, looking back to Dirk’s concerned face in the dying light, the flames flickering out to nothing above them, extinguishing themselves to reveal the stars. He wonders if it would be enough to keep him safe this way, and decides it’s at least worth trying. “I think we might have to- we need to head to the shore I saw- I have to do something. It’s important, I promise, I just-”

Dirk looks confused, a little _worried_ , but not at all _scared_. Todd isn’t sure he deserves his trust, sweeping his thumb over his cheek a little guiltily as Dirk nods his head, glancing behind them. 

“Okay.” He agrees, a small uncertain smile pulled to his lips. “As long as everything is- as long as _you’re_ okay that’s… good.”

He nods, a frantic reassurance as he lets go of him and reaches for the oars. The moment is officially broken, and he feels a pang of regret for what could have come of it, but he knows without a doubt that this is more important right now. It’s a chance to fix a mistake that might get them both hurt if he doesn’t. A chance to give away something he no longer wants, a chance to put that worry, that part of his life behind him. Even if it does come too late for him, it won’t be too late for Dirk, and right now that’s all that matters. 

Dirk has made him want something he’s never wanted before, has given him enough hope to make him believe he can choose something different. Todd may have made a lot of mistakes, but he’s _determined_ not to throw away the only chance he could ever get to put a stop to this. He just has to find a way to believe that Dirk will understand that it’s worth it.

His heart aches when he pushes them ever closer to the shore, filled with both regret and possibility. For the first time in his life, he thinks the latter may be the one to win out. 

He has to hope. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked this chapter please leave a comment! It's pretty much the only kind of payment I get for this so you know, that'd be cool of you <3


	8. Seven

There's a steady pool of dread growing over the determination in Todd's stomach. It may have something to do with the fact that Dirk isn't talking, watching him with a small uncertain smile as the last of the lights in the sky die out. It's hardly the perfect ending to the day that he wanted, but it could be the best thing he does for Dirk going forward, and he can only hope that he'll understand that.

He manages to steer them right up to the water's edge, hopping out of the boat to drag it up further onto the land to make sure it doesn't drift off. It's only then that he turns back to Dirk, something a little desperate in his expression as he reaches in to pick up the satchel. It'll be worth it, he tells himself, watching the way Dirk's eyes flicker warily between the satchel and his face like he's looking for reassurance.

"I- _sorry_." Todd says to break the silence, reaching out to squeeze his hand gently for a second. "Everything is fine it's just- there's something I need to take care of."

Dirk doesn't frown, but the small smile on his face appears a little more forced than before, just enough to make Todd feel guilty. "Okay."

It's as much as Dirk can give him right now, he knows that, and he knows he can only prove his worries wrong by doing what he needs to do.

"I'll be right back," he promises. Nodding once, watching as Mona alights on Dirk's shoulder with a flap of her delicate wings. He sets off into the woods where he'd seen Dorian and Gordon disappear earlier, knowing they'll be waiting.

Back at the boat, Dirk climbs out onto the edge, dangling his feet into the water as he watches the space in the trees Todd had disappeared into with a growing sense of worry.

"It's alright Mona," he says softly, turning to his butterfly friend in an attempt to reassure himself by reassuring her. "He said he'd be back, and he will be. It's Todd. We can trust him."

Dirk believes that, he really _does_ , it's just that this new development has his father’s words echoing in his ears, and the only thing he can do is try and hold back the most unpleasant of his thoughts for as long as it takes Todd to return. He is _going_ to come back, Dirk is _sure_ of it. Mostly. The water is too cold to keep his feet in for too long, and instead he draws his knees up to his chest and waits.

***

The woods are dense here, and it takes Todd a moment to find where they're waiting, approaching the small clearing with trepidation and determination in equal parts. _Just get it over with,_ is what he keeps telling himself. Even if the crown _could_ have fixed things, it certainly won't where he's going, and a moment of discomfort is a small price to pay to set things right enough that it won't leave Dirk in danger. Or so he hopes.

He takes a breath, steeling himself before pushing aside the branches and making his presence known.

"Um," he starts, and they both turn to him immediately. Gordon's hand goes to the hilt of his sword, but the look on Dorian's face certainly scares him more. He swallows, holding the satchel out like a peace offering. "Look... _guys_? I know we... left it on a bad note but- I've been meaning to get this back to you and- I shouldn't have- look, I made a stupid decision but the crown is all yours, I just... want this to be finished so-"

Dorian sneers at him, snatching the bag from his hands and flipping it open to check the crown is there. Todd's eyes flicker nervously between them as he tosses it aside, brows furrowing in confusion.

"Holding out on us again?" Gordon asks, finally speaking up as he takes a step closer, making Todd stumble backwards on the uneven floor.

"What?"

The dread that had been growing on the way over here makes itself known again, something cold and icy flooding through his veins as Gordon continues.

" _We_ heard that you found something. Something powerful, _special_ , something _much_ more valuable than a crown."

Todd shakes his head minutely, taking another step back only to be stopped by Dorian's hand wrapped like a vice around his upper arm.

"We want _him_."

It doesn’t take Todd long to work out who they mean, and even just the thought of it is enough to knock him sick.

"No." The word escapes him before he can stop to think about it, watching them both wide-eyed as they grin down at him. This is the _opposite_ of what he'd hoped for. He wanted to make sure Dirk was _safe,_ not drop him into more trouble than before. " _No,_ I- You can't-"

"Oh but we _can,"_ Dorian laughs. "Who's going to stop us? You?" He shakes Todd a little, as if to show him how ridiculous that idea is. It's been a while since Todd has felt as utterly helpless as he does now, but when Dorian lifts him up he feels like he's back on that roof all over again, only this time the consequences are so much worse.

"Look, I- I'll give you _anything_ you want just-"

"Aw," Gordon mocks, taking his sword out to rest the tip against Todd's stomach. "I think he grew a _conscience_."

If they kill him now there will be nothing to stop them from taking Dirk, but Todd _knows_ he's not strong enough to fight them off. There has to be something else.

"I gave you the crown! I'll give you- I'll stay with you, and I'll- I'll do whatever you want, I'll never see him again just- let him go."

Dorian rolls his eyes, seemingly growing bored of his bargaining, and pulls him right up onto his toes until they're nose to nose.

"His daddy paid us a lot of money to find you both," he tells him, perhaps enjoying Todd's fear a little too much. "Said it was the best way to teach him a lesson. Don't know what that means, don't really _care_ , all I know is he said we can sell the boy, as long as we do what he tells us with you. So you're gonna get in that boat," he tilts his head towards the water where a small boat is moored, waiting. "And if you go nicely we won't hurt him anymore than we have to."

Todd glances at the boat, swallowing hard before looking Dorian in the eye. "I'm not going to let you touch him."

Rather than give him pause like he'd hoped it would, Dorian just laughs, all teeth and dangerous eyes. "Oh I was _hoping_ you'd say that."

Gordon puts a hand on his shoulder, warning as he sheaths his sword. "Deal’s off if we kill him. Don't be stupid."

It should be reassuring that they aren't planning on killing him, but he can see the intent in Dorian's eyes, even Gordon looks like he'd be okay with getting as close to that as they can manage, and the thought of these people getting anywhere near Dirk, who's probably starting to worry about him by now, is almost too much to bear.

Todd, proving once again that being around these two does not bode well for his decision making, does the only thing he can think to do from this vantage point. With Dorian distracted however briefly by Gordon's words, he lashes out to kick him in the shin, and uses the shock to bite him where he's holding onto his arm, finally getting him to release his grip.

"You _little-_ "

"Dirk!" Todd scrambles back, making for the tree line as he calls out his name, hoping he can hear him, hoping he'll take it as a _warning_ , but he knows that it's unlikely and instead he tries his hardest to run.

It's not enough though, Dorian had dropped him to the floor, and even managing to get back on his feet proves difficult on the uneven ground. Not to mention that there's two of them, and he'd only gotten to one of them. Dorian seems to recover from his shock fairly quickly.

Todd goes crashing to the ground as Gordon grabs him by the ankle, dragging him backwards where Dorian picks him up again and slams his back up against the nearest tree.

"Don't worry," he says, looking for all the world like he'd strangle Todd there and then if he wasn't being paid not to. "We'll make sure he pays for that for you."

Over his shoulder he sees Gordon unwinding a rope, and he struggles again, knowing if he doesn't get away now they're _both_ going to be screwed.

It doesn’t matter though, _none_ of it matters, because no matter how much he fights against him he can’t fight the inevitable. Dorian shakes his head, pressing in so close Todd can feel his breath on his face. 

“We’ll take good care of him,” he promises, although it feels more like a threat, and the last thing he realises before Dorian knocks him unconscious is that Dirk will never know what happened.

Then everything goes black, and there’s no room for worrying anymore.

***

It feels like the night grows darker around them the longer he waits. 

Mona flutters around nervously, having swapped out her bright butterfly colours for the more muted shades of a moth, and her erratic movements don’t really help calm him down. 

Todd has been gone for too long. He knows, deep in his gut, that if he was coming back he would be back by now. But Dirk _refuses_ to believe the worst. Not now. He’s come too far for that to be the case, after everything- after _tonight_ \- Todd wouldn’t just run off with the crown, would he? He’d promised Farah he’d go back, he’d hadn’t even _taken_ the crown when Dirk had offered it to him earlier, and he doesn’t want to- he _can’t_ believe Todd would leave him here alone like this. 

And so he waits, watching the space in the trees he disappeared into, wondering if maybe he should follow after him and see where he went. Maybe he got hurt, maybe he’s lost somewhere in the dark, there are a million reasons he could be taking his time. He doesn’t want to move though, partly because Todd might come back and find him gone, and partly because without Todd here the world seems bigger and scarier than it did before. The looming forest looks in this moment like it’s hiding everything his father ever warned him about, but he can’t afford to think about that now. 

Then, just when he’s about to give up, or at least start crying, he sees a figure approaching through the trees and his chest floods with relief. 

“I was starting to think you’d run off with the crown and left me here,” he says, the laughter in his voice more to relieve his nerves than anything. The relief is short lived, because for a very long moment there’s no response, and then when the figure _does_ speak, he realises very quickly that it’s not Todd at all.

“He _did_ ,” the stranger says, sneering the words in a way that makes Dirk’s blood run cold. 

“ _What_?” He asks before he can stop himself, like he hadn’t been close to considering the thought himself a moment ago. “No, that’s- he _wouldn’t_!”

The man just laughs, shrugging as he tilts his head out towards the lake. “See for yourself.”

For a minute Dirk doesn’t want to look away from him, doesn’t want to see, doesn’t want to _know_. It could all be a joke, couldn’t it? Todd wouldn’t leave him. He wouldn’t just run off like that. But Dirk’s curiosity is as damning as it is endless, and it hardly takes long for him to cave. 

Of all the things Dirk has read about, heartbreak was one he thought he’d never experience. 

There’s a boat sailing away from them, out across the lake, and through the growing dark and the tears welling up in his eyes Dirk can still see well enough to make out Todd at the wheel. Running away from them, leaving him behind. 

“I- _no_. No, you- you _did_ something, he _wouldn’t-_ Todd!” He calls out across the lake, but there’s no answer, he doesn’t even turn round. Dirk doesn’t want to cry, certainly not in front of this stranger, but he’s starting to think he might not have a choice. 

“It’s a fair trade,” a second voice pipes up, and Dirk spins back to face them, suddenly aware that the two of them are grinning down at him, backing him towards the water. “He gets the crown, we get the guy with the magical powers.”

It feels like all the air has been punched out of his chest. He can maybe, possibly, _somewhere_ , comprehend Todd taking the crown and running away if he digs deep enough into it. But he could never in his wildest dreams have _ever_ seen something like this coming. The thought of Todd telling these men his secret, the thought of him _trading_ it like- like some kind of bartering chip is impossible, it’s _incomprehensible_ , it’s- 

It’s everything his father ever tried to warn him about. 

“How much do you think someone would pay for the power to mend anything they wanted?” One of them laughs, taking a step towards him. 

Dirk wants to argue, wants to tell them that whatever powers he has even they couldn’t extend to heal _this_ , that they don’t understand that’s _not_ how it works, but all he can do is shake his head and try to blink back the tears. 

“ _No_.” It’s desperate, disbelieving, and he stumbles back from them, managing to slip away to the side and get the water out from behind him. Where he’s going to run to he doesn’t know, especially when he feels like he can barely hold himself together, but he can’t just _let_ them take him, even if nobody would notice. 

“You _don’t_ want to give us trouble,” the other warns, unsheathing his sword as the first one pulls out a length of rope. Dirk knows what they intend to do with it, and that knowledge is all it takes for him to start running. 

He heads for the woods without thinking, but they’re wilder here, thick and untamed, branches scraping over his face and brambles getting caught in his clothes. There’s no way to move quickly or quietly, and he can hear them following, cutting away the roots and leaves to get to him faster, with all the obstacles in his way he’s only slowing down. All he wants to do is collapse to the floor and cry, and despite the terror and grief waging war inside of him he thinks he may as well do just that when it’s only a matter of time before they catch up to him anyway, lumbering footsteps sounding like they’re right behind him no matter how fast he tries to run. 

But then there’s something else. One of them cries out, then the other, the sound of metal on metal that makes no sense, and he stops dead in his tracks, confused and wary when their footsteps disappear and the forest falls silent around him. 

“Dirk?!” 

The sound of his voice is almost enough to break his heart all over again. After everything he’s done, ignoring all of his warnings, refusing him when he tried to help, the _last_ thing he deserves is the sheer depth of _worry_ he can hear in his father’s voice. 

“Father?” He replies, disbelieving and tearful as he takes a few hesitant steps back the way he came, rounding the corner to see him stood there, sword in hand and the two men who had been chasing him slumped to the floor. 

He doesn’t know if they’re still alive, but it’s the last thing on his mind as he shakes his head and runs towards him. When he drops the sword and opens his arms Dirk throws himself into them, burying his face in his chest for the smallest moment, trying to make everything else go away.

“Oh, my boy. Thank _heavens_ I found you. Are you alright? Are you hurt?” 

He doesn’t deserve the questions, doesn’t deserve the care and concern, not when he’s the one who got them into this mess, not when he ignored everything his father had worked so hard to teach him and brought all of this on himself.

“I-” he tries not to choke on the tears building up in his throat as his father tilts his head this way and that, checking for injuries. “How did you find me?”

“I was so _worried_ about you,” he sighs, shaking his head and pulling him back into a hug. “So I followed you, just in case, and then- then I saw them _attack_ you and I-” he shakes his head. 

It’s the most worried he thinks he’s ever seen him, the most caring, the most _concerned_. And to think of all the danger he’d put himself in just to follow Dirk and keep him safe- it’s almost too much to bear. 

“ _Dirk_ , we need to go before they come to. I’m not sure I could fight them off again,” he says softly, clearly trying not to spook him as he takes his arm to lead him away. And Dirk goes with him, stumbling after for a few steps, but before they can quite make it out of sight he stops, looking back out over the water one last time. 

He can see the boat, even though he can no longer make out Todd, drifting away into a shadow on the horizon. It’s silent and swift, like sand slipping through his fingers, taking everything he’d ever dreamed of with it. With _him_. 

He wonders if Todd had planned this from the start. He wonders if he’d known he’d be taking part of Dirk with him. 

His father's hand alights gently on his shoulder, turning him away from the last glimpse of hope, and it’s enough to make the tears finally spill over into grief ridden sobs that weigh him down with guilt. 

“I’m sorry,” he chokes out, letting himself be held, trying to take comfort in the way he combs his fingers reassuringly through his hair when he wishes they were someone else's. “You- You were _right_. You were right about _everything_ and I-”

His father sighs, resting his cheek atop his head for the moment. “I know, son,” he tells him, sounding like he wishes it wasn’t true. “I _know_.” 

Dirk just clings to him for as long as he allows him to, shoulders shaking as he tries to keep his cries as quiet as he can. He understands now, all the things his father had tried to protect him from. All the dangers outside the tower. The world can hurt in ways he’d never even imagined were possible, and he was a fool to ever think it would be worth it. 

They stay like that for a while, and it’s the longest anyone has ever held him but it’s still only a few minutes, just long enough for his sobs to subside a little into something more manageable. It’s then that his father takes him by the shoulders and pushes him back just far enough to look at him, smiling sadly as he takes out a handkerchief and wipes the tears from his eyes. 

“Let's go home.”

There’s a finality to it, an end to everything he’d discovered these past few days. All the life and hope and beauty, shut away forever. But it’s an end to this too, the danger and the chaos and the _pain_ , and with all that coursing through him so strongly he feels like he’s going to drown in it, Dirk doesn’t think he’s ever been more relieved in his life to hear those three words from his mouth. 

The fact that he still gets to call it home after all this, is enough to prove he never should have left. His father was the only one who loved him, it should have always been enough. He’s never going to lose sight of that again. 

***

Todd wakes up to a pounding headache, and the sudden jolt of the boat hitting the shore. 

He realises rather abruptly that he’s tied up. Ropes holding him in place, wrapped around his hands to tether him to the wheel, around his middle to keep him upright. He frowns when he sees the crown in his hand, knowing something about this isn’t right, but his head is too fuzzy to comprehend _what_. The last time he’d woken up like this the crown was nowhere to be seen. Tied up in a tower with a bird in his face and- 

Everything that’s happened over the past few days comes rushing back at once, and Todd looks around frantically as he pulls at the rope. 

“Dirk?” He calls, urgency only increasing when he hears the thunder of armed guards heading this way, shouting his name like their lives depend on it. “Dirk!” 

No matter how he tries he can’t work the ropes loose, and Dirk is nowhere to be found. He tries calling for him again, he even tries calling for Farah, but his voice gets lost in the cacophony of voices and the clatter of armour as the palace guards storm the boat, cutting through his bonds with ease and restraining him as soon as he tries to fight them off.

“Listen, you have to _listen_ to me he’s-” he fights back against the hands trying to drag him up out of the boat onto land, but there are too many of them and none of them are _listening_.

“Todd Brotzman, by order of the King you are under arrest-”

“Alright, alright _fine_ but just _listen_ -”

“You are charged with theft, avoidance of capture, and-”

“Treason! I _know_! But Dirk is-”

“You will be taken to the palace to await trial, where if you are found guilty, your life will be declared forfeit, and you will be put to death.”

“Please, _please_ you have to _listen_ to me! Someone is in _danger-_ ” but he’s not getting anywhere he realises, the guard stares him down impassively as he takes the crown in his hands like it’s the most precious thing he’s ever held. Todd wonders if he sounds like every other criminal they’ve ever arrested, the guard certainly _looks_ unimpressed like this is nothing he hasn’t heard before. There’s no help, he realises, cold hard dread sinking into his stomach. Nobody will know Dirk is missing until it’s too late, and if Todd is executed the location of the tower will be lost forever. 

The guard shakes his head and waves his hand to the others holding him. “I don’t need to hear this, take him away.”

In the moment Todd doesn’t have it in him to do anything but stumble along with them, too busy coming to the awful, searing realisation that he may actually have killed them both. 

From the sidelines, Farah watches them take him away, deciding it’s for the best for him to be somewhere she can at least know where he is. She’d known something was wrong when they hadn’t come back, is even more sure of it now Todd had shown up, crown in hand and no sign of Dirk, tied to a boat of all things. 

Both Dirk _and_ Todd are strange, she’s come to accept, but not like _this._ The kind of fear in Todd’s voice, the casual disregard for his own life (and the _lawful procedure of arrest_ ) were things she _knows_ couldn’t be faked. Dirk is in danger, Todd is the only one who knows what for, and Farah is the only one who can help him. 

It’s enough to make her sure of her decision.

She wishes there was a way to reassure him that she wouldn’t let Dirk be harmed, but that will have to wait. Somebody is planning on hurting one of her friends, and that means she has a job to do. 

She just hopes whatever it is that’s going on, she’ll be able to reach him in time. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked this chapter please leave a comment! It's pretty much the only kind of payment I get for this so you know, that'd be cool of you <3


	9. Eight

Todd spends the whole night pacing the floor of his cell. He's exhausted himself shouting, and resigns to watching the sunrise through the bars of his window, wondering what the morning will bring. Judging by the platform they've been constructing in the square, it's not going to be anything good.

The sun's ascent is slow, and knowing it's going to be his last doesn't make it any more beautiful. The only thing he can think about is Dirk, wondering where he is now. Lost in the woods or trapped back up in that tower, he's not sure it matters when the outcome is the same. He's in danger, it's possible he's hurt, and with Todd trapped in here there's nobody to rescue him. Not that Todd fancies his chances as a rescuer, but he could at least _try_. Like this he's no use to anybody, especially when nobody will listen.

Eventually the morning breaks over the city, the palace bells ringing out over the courtyard and setting everyone scurrying to life. Behind him, the cell door creaks open on its hinges.

The guard’s face is stony, but he thinks he can see a little sympathy in his eyes. Given the fact that Todd has been up all night he's sure he looks more than a little worse for wear. Not that it matters, not where he's going.

"Let's get this over with."

Todd frowns as the guard gestures him out of the cell, confused for a moment before he glances back out of the window to the gallows casting, a dark shadow over the cobbles. He'd like to say he isn't scared, but no matter how resigned he appears to be, the fear is creeping into his stomach now. Fear for himself, for Dirk, for Amanda.

He never did get to make it up to her. He wonders how she'll find out, or if she'll just think he disappeared too.

Maybe it's for the best.

"Don't I... Don't I get some kind of trial?" He asks, stalling at this point even as he does as he's told and lets them shackle his wrists together, ready to be led through the maze of cells.

"You were tried in your absence." The guard sighs, closing his cell behind him and indicating for them to walk. "Not that it makes much difference. You were seen committing the theft, found with the stolen property, and the punishment for treason is always the same."

Todd doesn't say anything to that, there isn't much he _could_ say. Arguing won't get him anywhere, not when spending the whole night yelling hadn't. He's just about ready to give up and accept his fate when he spots them.

The sight of Gordon and Dorian in a cell should bring him nothing but relief. Instead it floods him with so much anger he uses it to push the guards away in a moment of rage, reaching through the bars of their cell to drag Gordon right up to them.

"Where is he! How did you know about him?" He demands, shaking him when he doesn't answer as quickly as he'd like. The guards scramble to pull him away, but he's not willing to ease up his grip just yet. " _Answer me!"_

"It wasn't us!" Gordon stammers, and it feels _good_ to catch him off guard for once, ignoring the way Dorian is watching them both warily. "It was the old man. Said he'd lost something, told us he was more valuable than anything we'd ever seen."

Todd shakes his head, fighting the hands pulling him away, but Dorian pipes up from the back. of the cell. "Bastard double crossed us, took him back when we weren't looking. Guess he wants it all to himself. Shame _he_ isn't gonna hang for it though."

The way he sneers about Todd's fate should make him angrier, but the helpless dread that fills his chest at the words is enough to make him lose his grip on Gordon, the guards finally pulling him back into place and meeting no resistance as he tries to wrap his head around the fact that Dirk’s father had found him.

He should feel like it's a good thing, that at least he's with someone he knows rather than being lost in the woods on his own, but there's no reconciling that with what Dirk had told him about his father. Especially if he'd go to such lengths to get him back.

"He's in danger." He'd already known this, but now it feels more obvious than ever, and he shakes his head as the guards force him forwards on stumbling feet. "You- he's in _danger_ you have to _do_ something!"

The guard leading them on just sighs, turning to face him.

"The only thing I have to do is make sure you get to where you need to be. If something bad is happening I'd suggest you put it from your mind. It'll be a lot easier on everyone if you go quietly."

There's nothing he can do. Dirk is in danger and there's nothing he can do. Todd is going to die and there's nothing he can do.

This time when he shakes his head it's more defeat than disbelief, and the only reason he's still moving forward is the guards at his shoulders making him drag his feet over the floor. Step by step towards his fate.

He knows, somewhere, that he probably deserves this. But he knows with even more certainty that Dirk doesn't.

There's just nothing he can do.

***

The journey back to the tower passes in silence.

They walk all night, Dirk trailing after his father and trying his best not to burst into tears with every other step, arms wrapped tight around his middle to stop himself from falling apart. He doesn't know what to do now, he has nothing left but this, and by the time they've both climbed back to the top of the tower his feet are aching and his eyes are stinging. Everything else just feels empty.

"I'll heat up some water," his father says softly, lighting a fire in the empty alcove as Dirk drops down onto the edge of his bed, staring into space.

Everything about his room feels smaller now, and it's enough to make his chest ache with regret. He never should have left.

It doesn't take too long before his father is pouring the water into a bowl, making his way over with a cloth and some soap, and taking his hand in his to start cleaning off the dirt of days spent running around the woods. Dirk just watches the motions with empty eyes, letting himself be pulled this way and that, warm water washing his face and hands until his skin is left pink and clean and everything feels new again.

He can't remember the last time anyone touched him for this long, or treated him with so much gentleness when they did. Perhaps his father, a long time ago, before he could do anything for himself. Always looking after him in one way or another. He'd been a fool to throw that away.

"There," he says, wringing out the cloth and handing him a fresh one to dry himself with. "Just like it never happened."

And Dirk wishes that were true, wishes he'd never stepped foot outside, or that washing it away would take the aching in his heart with it. But it's still there, beating impossibly against his ribcage, reminding him of its hurt. He wonders if the memories will fade with time, if he'll forget what the wind feels like in his hair. What the grass feels like under his toes, what the sky looks like with no roof to block it.

What it feels like to have another person smile at him.

Maybe, in time, he'll even manage to forget the blue of his eyes.

"I really did _try_ Dirk. I tried to warn you what was out there." His father sighs, picking up the bowl and moving towards the door, taking it away to be emptied. "The world is dark, and selfish, and _cruel_. If it finds even the slightest hint of sunshine, it seeks to _crush_ it." His face is drawn, sympathetic as he looks him over. "You don't _belong_ out there."

He lingers for a moment longer, and Dirk only looks up when he hears his footsteps disappearing away. He sighs heavily, dropping back to the bed to stare at the ceiling, jacket discarded next to him. Mona cuddles up to his cheek, the tiny snout of her bat form snuffling against his skin. It tickles, but it's not enough to make him laugh, reaching into his pocket to pull out the flag he'd stowed away there.

Even with his desire to forget, he couldn't bear to let his father take it away.

For the longest moment he just keeps it pulled close to his chest, eyes screwed shut as he tries not to think about Todd. About the look on his face when he'd given it to him, the astonished way he'd laughed with Dirk had hugged him. He wishes he was here, or at least still _there_ , trapped in that moment with no knowledge of what comes next.

Eventually he unfurls it, raising the fabric up above his head to stare at the sun emblazoned there, shining golden against the purple, rich and deep. He stares for a good while, tracing every detail as if trying to commit it to memory, until Mona flaps up to bite at the edge of it, making him frown and pull it back.

"What are you doing?" He asks, holding it closer to his chest protectively. It's not like her to do anything like that, and even though he's hurting he doesn't have it in him to shout at her. She swoops in closer though, tugging at the corner before he can stop her and then spiralling up to the ceiling, flapping leathery wings against the painting there.

Dirk's frown deepens as he sits up, Mona diving back to him and nudging the flag in his hand. He knows the motion, that she wants him to follow, but he can't follow her up there, and he can't work out what she wants him to look at either.

"I don't-" he's too tired for this, and he just shakes his head. "I don't know what you want me to look at."

She squeaks, an odd little noise, and this time she does a lap of the room, hesitating in various places he's painted over, eventually coming to rest on his shoulder and pushing her nose into his cheek again.

"I-" he looks between the flag and the walls, trying to put it all together. It's clearly _something_ she thinks is important and it's not the first time he wishes he could understand her. He understands enough though, pulling himself to his feet and making his way over to one she'd landed at on the wall opposite, brushing his fingers thoughtfully over the paint, something clicking into place ever so slowly, like he's back in the square, staring at the mural, reaching for a word right on the tip of his tongue.

With shaking fingers, he raises the flag up to the wall. This time, he sees it.

All of his breath leaves him at once, stumbling backwards as he stares in disbelief. There, in the paint, hidden in the picture he'd made _years_ ago, is the same sun that's been emblazoned onto the flag he's holding in his hand.

"But that's- that's not _possible."_

He finds himself frantically looking around the room, all the places she'd pointed out and then some more beside. He's not sure if he's looking to prove himself right or wrong, he's not sure what his theory _is_ , but he's trying desperately to find _something_ , and now that he knows what he's looking for it's so easy to spot he wonders how he hasn't noticed it in front of his face this entire time.

They're _everywhere_. The ceiling, the walls, even the rug he'd clumsily managed to weave for the floor. Everywhere he looks he's surrounded by a symbol he'd never seen before today. A symbol he couldn't have known. For years he's been painting them into everything without noticing, like he's been trying to send himself a message he could never understand.

It's _impossible_.

But then it’s impossible like hiding a person in a tower away from the world for their entire life, and never in all that time being discovered. Impossible like a royal baby going missing, and never being seen again by anyone despite the kingdom being searched every single day since. Impossible like a jacket that can be anything he wants it to be with just a thought. Impossible like a boy with glowing hair, and the ability to use it to heal anyone he likes.

Impossible like every other thing about his life. Impossible in a way he’d never even _questioned_.

It falls into place like a wave crashing over him, and he finds himself stumbling backwards, trying to get away from the evidence that surrounds him that’s pointing to something far bigger, far heavier, far more _impossible_ than he wants to understand. 

 

But when he thinks about it, the way he'd felt when he'd put that crown on his head, the feeling of _something_ tugging at the back of his mind when he'd seen the mural earlier that day, the secrecy and mystery of his life, the years and years spent watching from his window, longing to see the lights that he _knew_ deep down, somehow, were for him. It's like every day he'd been edging closer to the truth, like something in him had _known_ all along, and was just _waiting_ for the right time to set him free.

And then he'd been trapped all over again.

His head spins, sending the bowl on his nightstand clattering down as he fumbles to find some support to keep him on his feet. The new understanding bringing so much more with it. Hope and joy and a bubbling feeling of _clarity_ , but grief and betrayal too, anger at what's been stolen from him, confusion as to _why,_ and a fear so deep at the change this could bring that he feels himself rooted to the spot when his father calls out to him.

"Dirk, is everything okay?"

He's coming up the stairs, Dirk can _hear_ him, and it gives him just the amount of drive he needs to go out and meet him for the first time in his life. His heart is racing as he pulls back the curtains, barely able to look at him as he clutches to them for support. He doesn’t know what to say, doesn’t know how to put the revelation he’s just had into words. But there’s only one way to do it in the end, and the conclusion comes spilling out of him before he can stop it. 

"I'm the lost prince."

It comes out more breath than anything, Dirk knows better than to raise his voice to his... _him._ But it's not enough and Riggins sighs heavily.

"I know you're upset but if you want me to hear you're going to have to speak louder than-"

" _I am the lost prince_ ," he repeats, loud and clear and unmistakable in the small space between them. This time he looks up to him, meeting his gaze as he stares him down, daring him to tell him something different even through the deep sense of betrayal he feels coursing through him. " _Aren't I?_ "

For once in his life his father doesn't seem to have a response. Something flitters over his face, fear perhaps, maybe guilt. Nothing that seems to indicate that Dirk had been _wrong_ , nothing that makes it seem like he's going to try and defend himself.

"Did I ramble this time, or was that clear enough for you?" The anger is making him brave, he thinks. It's possible that it's making him rash as well, that there could have been a better way to go about this, but it's like _everything_ he'd forced down inside himself is rushing out all at once and he's powerless to stop it even if he'd _wanted_ to. "Well, father? If I should even _call_ you that. _"_

He seems to recover then, shaking his head and scoffing at the thought. " _Dirk_ , are you even hearing yourself? You go outside one time, and now you're asking such _ridiculous_ questions. I know you're upset but even for you that's-"

"No! It was _you_!" He shoves his hand away when he reaches for him, staring him down with accusatory eyes. "It was _all_ you!"

This time his father’s face drops into an unrecognisable expression, one he's never seen on him before, one that makes him feel a glimmer of fear under the anger. "Everything I did, was to protect _you_." He sounds detached, clinical even in a way he can't understand. "You couldn't even _begin_ to comprehend what you’re talking about. I kept you _safe_."

Dirk shakes his head, pushing past him and running anxious hands through his hair as he paces into the main room, trying to get away even if there's nowhere to go. It feels like the walls are closing in on him.

"I spent my entire _life_ hiding from people who would _use_ me for my powers,"

"Dirk-" he's following after him but Dirk doesn't turn around, doesn't listen when he calls his name, too busy trying to work through the mess that's swirling in his head.

"All that time, all that _time_ being _scared_ of the outside world, being told it was _dangerous_ , that people wanted to _hurt_ me, and I should have been hiding from _you_." He rounds on him then, glancing out the window as he does like he might be able to get away.

"Where will you go?" Riggins asks, drawing himself up to his full height and still managing to look concerned. "He won't be there for you."

In the wake of his revelation he hadn't had chance to spare a thought for Todd, and Dirk has a sudden, _horrible_ realisation, that Todd hadn't been running off at all. It fills him with a sickening fear, looking up at Riggins with wide eyes and forcing the words out, small and scared. 

"What did you _do_ to him?" 

"That criminal? Is to be _hanged_ for his crimes."

The words feel like a physical blow, Dirk flinches back and shakes his head, eyes filling with tears when he hears them. " _No-"_ suddenly his father is there, shushing him softly when he makes a desperate little sob, trying to hold back the overwhelming rush of grief.

"No, no it's _okay_. He'd already committed treason, Dirk, that's not your fault. All of this is as it _should_ be, I _promise_."

He reaches out to ruffle his hair, the way he always does, but his words are enough to make Dirk angry all over again, reaching out to grab his wrist and stop him before he can touch him. It's the first time he's ever made a move to stop him, and from the look on his face, Riggins is as surprised as he is.

"No! No you-you were _wrong_ about the world! You were wrong about _him_ , and you were _wrong_ about _me!_ You tried to keep me here forever, you _never_ would have told me, and all that time you were _using_ me for something I _never_ asked to have _any_ part in!" He shakes his head as his father pulls his wrist out of his grip, looking near stunned with disbelief. "Well I know who I am now, I know what you _stole_ from me, and I will _never_ let you use me or my powers _ever_ again!"

His father stumbles back a few steps, still staring at him in shock, but it barely takes a minute for him to recover, narrowing his eyes as he straightens out his own jacket and draws himself up to his full height.

"I didn't want to do this Dirk, but you left me no choice. My family was tasked with keeping people like you safe before this kingdom was even _born_ ," he shakes his head, taking a step towards him even as Dirk takes his own away. "I don't need you to _let_ me do _anything_. It's my _birthright_ to do what I need to in order to keep you safe. And if that makes me the bad guy?" Dirk realises as Riggins reaches for him that he's backed himself into a corner, eyes wide as the man wraps his hand around his wrist tight enough to bruise. "Then I will _be_ the bad guy."

***

The fight against the guards is one Todd was losing before he started. It's more of a struggle than anything, fighting to get out of the chains, or at least cause enough of a fuss that they'd take the time to stop and listen to him, just to get him to co-operate if nothing else. He's well aware he barely stands a chance, but that's not good enough to make him stop trying, he's not going to bow out of this without doing everything he can to make them _listen_.

Despite his moment of hopelessness earlier, he's decided that even if he can't fix anything, at least this way he can say he tried.

It's getting close though, the exit to the courtyard is only a few doors ahead of them, and whatever happens next Todd knows that once he goes through them, all hope of fixing _anything_ will be lost. It's almost enough to make him cry, until he hears something he hasn't heard in _years._

There's a knocking on the door in front of them. Three solid raps, followed by two short ones, and a short burst of finger taps that he recognises instantly. He frowns in confusion at the sound, a secret knock only one other person in the world would know, but couldn't _possibly_ be here right now.

Every door to the room suddenly locks, shutters closed over the bars and plunging them into near-darkness, and Todd wonders if maybe she might be after all.

The guards panic, drawing their swords as Todd braces himself against the inevitable hellfire to follow if what he thinks is happening is _actually_ happening, and tries his best to act at least a little surprised when the guard tries the handle only to find the door won't move, and the shutter opens to reveal a familiar, somewhat drunken face.

"What's the password?" Tina asks, winking at him through the shutter bars. The only thing that saves Todd from laughing is his utter disbelief at the sight of her.

"What?" The disbelief in Todd's eyes is mirrored in the guard’s voice, and he does his best to keep his gaze fixed anywhere less incriminating than looking around for where the others could be.

"Nope," she grins, closing the shutter.

"Wh- _Open this door!"_

He hears her laugh before she even opens the grate. "Not even _close_!"

The guard in front bangs loudly on the wood, but it doesn't move an inch. "I will give you three seconds to open this door!"

"Or else what?"

"One..."

"No, seriously man, I wanna know!"

" _Two..."_

"Come _on!_ I'll open it if you tell me?"

Todd knows Amanda, knows her sense of humour better than anyone else in the world, and knows without a _doubt_ the _exact_ moment someone is going to do something stupid.

"Th-"

The guard doesn't get to finish his counting before all the doors are ripped open with a cacophony of shouts and screams as the room is flooded with people Todd is sure could only be described as a _rabble_. Despite his disdain and barely disguised fear of the company Amanda keeps, he has _never_ been more relieved to see _anyone_ in his _life_.

The guards, even with their swords and all the fancy training he's presuming that they've had, are no match for the sheer force of what seems like every ruffian Amanda has ever played host to, headed up by the four he's only ever felt threatened by. Watching the way they drag one of the guards off to an unknown fate with shouts and yells of laughter, he can't help but feel those fears are well founded.

"So, when I said don't come back without good reason I didn't mean go and get yourself _executed_."

"Amanda!" He laughs, not even bothering to hide how happy he is to see her. She rolls her eyes, but he can see the smile trying to fight its way onto her face.

"Well yeah, who else was gonna pull you out of the mess you call a life? Don't tell me you _planned_ this?" Even through the sarcasm she looks him up and down with something akin to worry, seemingly checking he's not hurt. He'd be warmed by it, but the only thing he can feel right now is a pressing sense of urgency.

"Uh, no more than I plan anything else," he shrugs, pleased when it pulls a smile to her face. "But there's- I mean, I _want_ to talk! I'd- I'd _love_ to talk because, you know, nearly being executed kinda makes you think about all the things you want to say and there's a _lot_ but-" he swallows, shaking his head because if this goes well they'll have all the time for talking later, and if she still doesn't want to then nothing has changed. He can deal with that later. "Dirk's in danger and I need-"

"Oh, crap, yeah I got you!" She fumbles with the ring of keys in her hand, trying to find the one that'll unlock his cuffs. There are more guards coming, he can hear them in the halls, but they seem to have already met a fight and he's not about to waste that.

"Why- how are you even here?" He asks suddenly, so overcome by the thrill of the rescue that it had entirely slipped his mind that Amanda couldn't have _possibly_ known without help.

Amanda smirks, looking up from where she's making her way through the keys. " _Farah_ ," she says, something suggestive in her voice he's not sure he likes. "She came running in last night, said something about Dirk being in danger and you being _executed_ which- of all the ways to get in contact it _seems_ a bit dramatic, but anyway-" she shrugs, marking the click of the key _finally_ fitting, unlocking the shackles from around his wrists. "When a woman like that says she needs your help, you don't say no. Besides, I don't see why _you_ should get to have all the fun."

Todd rubs at his wrists where the skin has been made raw by the metal, taking in the sight of her for a moment while he has the chance. 

“I-” he shakes his head, wanting to reach for her but not quite daring to. Just because she saved his life doesn’t mean they’re on good enough terms for that, he _knows_ that, but even with everything else going on there’s still an ache in his chest when he looks at her now. “Thanks. For this- I mean- I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t showed up.”

“ _Died_ ,” she states bluntly, but she smiles a moment after. “But you can thank Farah, she said to meet her at the gate so you’d better run before these guys catch up to us.” She points a thumb over her shoulder, and he knows the more guards show up the less chance he has of getting away. He just wishes now was a better time. 

“Yeah. Yeah okay I just- are you going to be alright?”

“Sure. I’ve got my boys, and a whole bar full of criminals I promised free beer to if we make it back alive so-” She shrugs, and it’s perhaps not the reassurance he _wants_ but it’s reassuring all the same. “Go on, rescue your man. Maybe next time you come round you can actually buy him a drink.”

“I- he’s not-” he sighs, they don’t have time for this, and he doesn’t have time to cry with relief when for the first time in years she reaches out and pulls him into a hug. 

He holds onto her a little longer than he should, given the circumstances, but when she pulls away the look in her eyes is soft and affectionate. 

“You’ve got a hot lady and a pretty guy waiting for you,” she tells him, pushing him towards the door. _“Go_.”

He laughs, he can’t help it, but he takes the sword from a nearby unconscious guard and presses it into her hand. 

“Be careful.”

She grins at him, every bit as wild as he remembers. “ _Never._ ”

And with that she’s gone, running into the fray after her gang of bodyguards, and Todd may not trust them with himself, but he knows she’s in safe hands. He doesn’t have time for anything else. 

He bolts out the door, urgency creeping back in now the moment is over, and runs as fast as he can down to the gate, keeping close to the walls to avoid detection. By the time he gets there he’s out of breath, stumbling to a stop against the wall, and Farah raises an unimpressed eyebrow at him from where she’s hiding under the edge of the battlements. 

“Where have you _been_?” She hisses, even though she’s already checking him for injuries, holding him by his shoulders while he catches his breath, and Todd thinks it’s as close to a hug as he’s ever likely to get from her. He feels oddly touched by the gesture. 

“Execution,” he pants between breaths, and she rolls her eyes, letting go of him to reach for the reigns of the horse she’s been waiting with. 

“Okay, we don’t have time for- You need to get to Dirk,” she urges, pressing them into his hands. “Take my horse.”

Todd frowns uncertainly, shaking his head. “You’re not coming?”

“I’m going to get reinforcements, tracking the horse will be easy. Just- you need to go and you need to go _now._ ” She already moving to help him up, and he’s still too caught up in the adrenaline of a rescue from near-death to protest as he gets himself seated in the saddle, turning to Farah before she can send him off. 

“I- Thank you. For, you know- Getting Amanda, and… not letting me die. It’s…” He shakes his head, unsure how to verbalise exactly what it is in a way that won’t make them both feel more awkward than they already do. 

“That’s- It’s _fine_. You would have done the same and-” she huffs, handing him the reigns. “You need to go. He’s a fast rider, he’ll get you there. Just- be careful, okay? Keep him safe.”

He remembers the conversation they’d had only yesterday where he’d asked the same of her. There’s a feeling between them, like they’d _both_ failed Dirk in that, but Todd knows as well as Farah does that neither of them are going to let that happen a second time. 

“I will.” He promises, the most sure of himself he’s been in a while. 

Farah smiles, just the smallest amount, and nods her agreement. “I’ll be right behind you.”

It feels like a moment to say something else, something more important, but the guards are racing down the hill and he knows she can’t be caught helping him, and he can’t be caught at all. So instead he takes up the reigns and nods once to her as she turns to run back into the shadows, hoping whatever it is she’s going to do it means he won’t be on his own. 

Even if he is, he thinks as the horse takes off running into the forest, seemingly sensing Todd’s agitation as he picks up speed, he’s not willing to let Dirk down a second time, no matter what it takes. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked this chapter please leave a comment! It's pretty much the only kind of payment I get for this so you know, that'd be cool of you <3


	10. Nine

Todd can't say he's ever been particularly good on a horse, but then he's never been on a horse this well trained.

They're going far faster than he's used to, the trees around them blurring into a vague swathe of _green_ as he urges them onwards. He can only hope that he's remembering the way correctly, but despite their speed it still feels like far, _far_ too long before they manage to break through into the clearing, familiar tower looming overhead. He stumbles off the horse and ties it to a nearby tree just to be safe, staring up at the window and _hoping_ that Dirk is up there. 

Hoping he's not too late.

"Dirk?" He calls, uncertain as to whether or not it's a good idea to alert anyone else to his presence, but then he doesn't know if Dirk even _knows_ he's in danger. It doesn't cross his mind that Dirk may be surprised that he's here, given the way they'd left things.

He's just about to start scaling the wall himself, when a rope comes cascading out of the window and lands at his feet. Todd doesn't need any further invitation. He starts to climb, even as it's being pulled back up, too desperate to reach Dirk to hang around and wait. There's no time, he's already starting to realise he may have to try and _convince_ Dirk to come with him. But he'd let down the rope, hadn't he? He's clearly willing to at least _listen_ to him, and if he's prepared to do that then Todd is prepared to explain everything from the beginning if it means he can keep him safe.

He's still thinking about that when he drags himself over the window ledge, just as gracelessly as he had before, only this time he manages to stay on his feet.

"Dirk! I thought-" his eyes widen in shock when he catches sight of him, and oddly the first thing he notes is the tears on his cheeks. He'd _known_ something was wrong, but somehow he hadn't expected to be confronted with _this._ Dirk is tied to the pillar in the middle of the room, wrists bound behind his back and gag tied firmly around his mouth. He's looking at Todd, eyes filled with fear, and it takes him a moment too long to realise that Dirk is trying to _say_ something.

The hand on his shoulder that spins him round takes him by surprise, but nowhere near as much as the sharp, rending pain of a dagger being plunged into his stomach.

The man he can only assume is Dirk's father stares down at him with unforgiving eyes as he pulls the blade back out, watching as Todd falls to his knees, clutching his hands over the growing red patch on his shirt and watching it expand in disbelief. He hears Dirk cry out, but it almost sounds like he's underwater, the pain of it is so strong he can barely keep himself upright, swaying on his knees before collapsing to the floor with a cry of his own.

Of all the ways he'd thought he'd fail Dirk, this had never been one of them.

"Look what you made me do." The man sighs, stepping over him and shaking his head as Dirk continues to protest behind the gag. Todd can hardly stand to look at him, but he can't bring himself to look away, the only thing he wants Dirk to know is that he's sorry, but he can't find the words to tell him. "Our secret will die with him," he says, voice oddly reassuring as he picks a set of keys up off the table. "I made a promise to keep you safe, and that's _exactly_ what I intend to do. So as for _us_ ," he wraps a hand around the chains keeping Dirk bound, pulling him back from where he's fighting to reach Todd. "We are going where _nobody_ will ever find you _again_. In time you'll understand, but for now, if keeping you locked away properly is what it takes to keep our secret then I will _do_ it."

Dirk struggles and squirms in his hold, pulling away from him as much as he can and trying to drag himself back towards Todd. Mona screeches, and dives in to flap her wings in his face, but his father bats her away, and Dirk cries out again in worry when she hits the wall and drops to the floor.

Todd wants to help, but he can barely put enough pressure on his stomach to keep the blood from rushing out too quickly, and going by how much effort his captor is having to put in just to get him to the door, Dirk has no intention of going easily. He finds himself oddly proud.

" _Enough_ already!" His father hisses, pulling Dirk up by the front of his shirt to shake him. "We are _going_ to fix this situation. I am _meant_ to keep you safe. Stop _fighting_ me!"

Dirk stumbles back when he drops him, glaring up at him from the floor and in the fall it seems that the gag has come loose, because the next thing Todd knows Dirk is shouting, shaken but determined.

"No!” His defiance is almost enough to bring a smile to Todd’s face. “I won't stop! I will _never_ stop fighting you! You _lied_ to me, you stole my _life_ from me, and I will never, _ever_ stop trying to get away from you!" There are tears in his voice, desperation showing through the anger, and Dirk shakes his head as he glances over at Todd, looking back up to his father with wide, pleading eyes. "If you let him die, I will _never_ forgive you," he says, swallowing heavily. "But... if you let me save him?" It the last thing he has, the only thing that matters, and he can already feel his heart sinking to his stomach as he speaks the words, knowing that it's enough to seal his fate. "If you let me _save_ him, I- I will go with you. I'll never try to escape, I'll never- I'll do _whatever_ you want, and I'll stay with you forever just- just _let me heal him_."

Todd shakes his head, reaching out towards him like he can make him take the words back. "No- _Dirk_ , you can't-"

"Please," he ignores Todd as much as he can, even if the sound of his voice makes him want to cry. He can see his father start to consider it, see him weighing up the options, and it's the _only_ chance he has to make him agree. "I'll stay with you, forever. I promise. We'll go wherever you want, I'll do _whatever_ you want. I- I won't even _look_ outside again if you just- _please_ just let me save him."

For the longest moment Riggins just stares him down, weighing up his options. Dirk knows this is it, that whatever he decides now is going to be final, and he doesn't dare look away just in case it makes him think he's lying. The thought of having to hold up to that promise is a weight that's almost enough to crush him, but it’s nowhere near as terrifying as the thought of Todd dying here. Because of him. He _can't_ let that happen.

It feels like an age before Riggins nods, unlocking the chains from around his wrists and pointing a warning finger in his face. "Wait here."

Dirk nods, fidgeting nervous fingers and watching wide-eyed and fearful as his father drags the chains over to where Todd is lying, staring him down disdainfully as he locks on end around his wrist, and the other to the post he's managed to drag himself up against.

"I'm not going to risk you coming after us," he says when Todd eyes the chains with some confusion. It's enough explanation to have him glaring weakly at him, even if he can taste iron in his mouth and his free hand is shaking where it's pressed to his wound.

"I won't stop looking for him," he promises, voice straining to sound certain. It earns him a raised eyebrow and a kick to the side that leaves him wheezing, but he barely has time to catch his breath before Dirk is rushing over to him, cupping his face in his hands and smoothing worried fingers through his hair.

" _Todd_!" He doesn't think anyone has ever sounded so happy to see him, and even through his tears Dirk is smiling, hands hovering worriedly over him like he's not sure where it's safe to rest them, breathing in sharply when he catches sight of the blood pooling through his shirt. "I- I'm so _sorry_ Todd, I shouldn't have-" his voice catches on a sob, and he leans back just enough to pull his jacket from the table it had been thrown to, dragging it over to Todd and making to lay it over his stomach. "It's going to be okay, I promise it's-"

"No," it's getting harder to breathe, but he forces the word out anyway, pushing Dirk's hands away weakly where he's trying to lay his jacket on him. " _No_ , Dirk you- it's not _worth_ -"

"Shh," he shakes his head, fighting off Todd's efforts easily, even though his hands are trembling around his jacket. "You- _please_ you have to trust me. I can- I can _fix_ this just let me-"

"I-" Todd shakes his head, trying to pull himself away even though there's nowhere to go, and he lacks the strength to do it. "It's not- Dirk, I _can't_ let you do this."

Dirk shakes his head, tears rolling down his cheeks as he offers Todd a small, helpless smile. "I can't let you die." His voice is fragile, scared, but even through that Todd can hear the conviction in it. "Not- not when it's _my_ \- not when I can _fix_ it Todd I _can't-_ "

"But if you- if you do this then-" he doesn't know when words became so _hard_ , but they've never felt more important. "Then you'll- _you_ will die. You’ll- _worse_ than that I- Please _don't_ -" he's cut off by his own coughing fit before he can finish, the pain wracking through him like nothing he's ever felt before.

" _Hey,_ " Dirk soothes softly, shaking his head as he cups his cheek, waiting for him to look up at him. "It's going to be okay. I promise."

Todd shakes his head the smallest amount, but Dirk's eyes meet his, soft and pleading, and between that and the pain he can already feel himself losing the will to fight him. Dirk doesn't look away as he moves to drape his jacket over him as gently as he can, closing his eyes and taking a breath like he's getting ready to pour everything he has into this.

The moment he closes his eyes, Todd reaches for the discarded dagger, still wet with his blood. He doesn’t want to hurt him, but he doesn’t have a _choice._

"Dirk," he starts, reaching out to cup his cheek with bloodied fingers. "Wait-"

Dirk opens his eyes, looking him over worriedly like he's expecting Todd to die on him right there and then. Todd lets his eyes flicker over his face, like he's cataloguing every detail of it away one last time. He traces his fingers over Dirk's cheek, through his hair and down his neck, pausing a moment when it comes to rest on his shoulder.

It only lasts a second, but it feels like the longest second of Todd's life, when he gathers all of the strength he has left in him and _pushes_.

It doesn't knock him back far, but it's far enough for Todd to grab onto his jacket and bring the dagger down in one smooth motion, cutting it in two.

"Todd-" Dirk whispers, shaking his head frantically as he rushes forwards to try and fix it. For a second it glows, bright and shining gold, lighting Dirk's hair along with it as they fill the room with sunlight, before it fades just as quickly as it came, and the fabric unravels in his hands into thousands of tiny vines that crumble into dust flecked with tiny yellow flowers as soon as they hit the floor. "No, _Todd!"_

Dirk is already crying, disbelief and horror written all over his face, but if _he_ looks upset that's _nothing_ to how his father reacts.

"NO!" He screams it loud enough to startle the birds atop the tower, face growing almost comically red with anger. "What have you _done_?!"

He drops to the floor, desperately trying to salvage the piles of dust, scrambling through them and trying to sweep it into his palms. 

"No, no, _no_ this- do you have _any_ -This is my life, this is- this is everything and you-"" Todd has never seen anyone so frantic as he is right now, shaking his head as the breeze rushes in and carries some of the flowers away. "No- _no-_!" it seems to be the only word he can say, repeating it over and over as he tries to pluck them out of the air, grasping at nothing as he chases the the trail of them over to the window, landing on the sill at Mona's feet. He scratches blunt nails against the wood, trying to dig out the dust, but Mona, still recovering from before, flaps her wings to shake them out. The resulting breeze carries the rest of the flowers out over the ledge.

He'll never know if he just didn't see it under him, or if he was too distraught to care.

Dirk reaches for him as he trips, a sound of pure panic bursting out of him as he jolts towards the window, but it's far too late for either of them to do anything. He finds himself frozen in place, staring in despair at the window where his father had been only moments ago. It feels like he cycles through every possible human emotion before he hears the distant thud of something hitting the ground, the sound echoing through his body and leaving him dizzy with the all too sudden realisation that he's never going to see him again. For a moment, the rush of relief when he knows it means freedom, and the aching grief of losing the only man he'd ever known as family threaten to tear him in two, until he remembers _why_ he'd fallen and he's hit with a fresh wave of worry.

"No-" he whispers, face growing pale as he turns back to Todd, finding him slumped and unresponsive against the pillar. "No no no no, Todd!" The words spill out of him desperately as he pulls Todd’s head into his lap, shaking him just a little in the hopes that he'll respond. "Todd?"

"Mm." It's barely a sound at all, but he opens his eyes just a little, glassy and unfocused as he tries to find Dirk's face.

"Hey, _hey_ , look at me- _Todd_ I'm- I'm right here I-" he shakes his head, cradling Todd's in his hand as he presses his other over the wound in his stomach, trying to stop what's already gone too far. "Stay with me Todd, you- you _have_ to stay you can't- don't _leave_ me. I-" it's almost too much, choking on his own hitching breath in his haste to get his words out. "I only just found you, you can't _go_."

Todd groans, and maybe Dirk is pressing a little too hard but he can hardly bring himself to care if it means he's still alive. He can feel Todd slipping away under his fingers, and he screws his eyes shut to reach for the magic he can still feel inside of him, aching to get out, to _fix_ this, but there's nothing for it to connect to- nothing to force it out of him, and no matter how hard he tries to focus his energy it stays buried beneath the surface, just too far out of his reach.

"Hey," Todd manages weakly, reaching up to brush his tears away with fingers that are too cold to be reassuring as Dirk tries, and _tries_ to make it work.

"I can't- it _won't-_ I- there's- there's _nothing,_ Todd. There's- I'm so- so _sorry_ I-"

" _Hey_ , hey it's- Dirk, it's _okay._ " 

“ _No_ , no Todd it’s not- it’s _not_ okay it’s _not_ \- I’m _so_ -”

Todd tries to raise his hand, but he’s too weak to manage it. Dirk reaches for it anyway, twining their fingers together and pressing it against his cheek like if he can just hold on tight enough Todd won’t slip away. 

“ _Dirk_ ,” he says softly, and when Dirk dares to look at him he can already see what he wants to say written all over his face. 

“Yes?” He whispers, hardly daring to listen when he knows it’s going to be too much to hear, but he can’t _not_ when it’s all he _wants_ to hear. 

Not like this though. _Never_ like this. 

“You-” Todd’s struggling to breathe now, he can see it in the way his chest stutters when he tries to inhale. It’s all Dirk can do to hold onto him tighter. “You gave me so much I- I never _wanted_ anything the way I want-” he swallows, but Dirk can see the red on his lips, bright and damning against the deathly pale of his skin. Whatever the words he’d wanted to say were, he sees the moment he realises he doesn’t have time to get them out, the monumental effort it takes him to say the few that he does. “You were my new dream.”

He can’t help it, the pained smile it pulls to his face, the laugh that turns into a sob at the prospect of having gotten everything he’s ever wanted at the exact moment he’s about to lose it forever. The world is cruel in ways he’d never imagined, but in the end it gives him just enough time to tell Todd the only thing he knows for certain.

“ _And you were mine._ ” His voice breaks over the words, and he can only hope that Todd heard them, watching in despair as his eyes slip closed, feeling the way he grows heavy in his arms. 

There should be a limit, Dirk thinks, to the amount of times a human heart can break in one day. 

Todd’s chest falls still under his hand, and Dirk is alone. 

The moments after stretch on forever, a lifetime passing by in seconds as he brushes the hair out of Todd’s face, tracing his thumb over his eyebrows to smooth them out the way he’d always wanted, resting a hand over his heart where it’s fallen silent in its cage. 

He doesn’t start crying in earnest until he knows without a doubt that Todd is gone.

Whatever tears he didn’t have for his father, he finds them now. Grief crashing over him all at once as he clings to Todd like he could disappear if he lets go for even a second. He buries his face against his chest, sobs wrenched up from the very depths of his being, shaking him apart with how much they hurt, mirroring the desperate, painful emptiness that’s hollowing out his insides. He rocks them together, unable to do anything other than cry and cry and _cry_ like the entire world is crashing down around him, and there’s nothing he can do but watch. 

“ _Please_ ,” he whispers eventually, the need to say _something_ welling up so strongly inside of of him that he’s powerless to stop it. “Please, _please_ , bring him back.”

He doesn’t know who he’s asking, doesn’t know _why_ he’d bothered, but he hides his face against the blue of Todd’s tunic, trying his hardest not to think about the way he’d never see it reflected in his eyes again, the thought filling him with a grief so strong that it echoes back in time over _centuries_. “ _Bring him back._ ”

The words breaks into a fresh wave of tears, and he’s so lost in hiding away from the world, trying to keep Todd close while he can, that it takes him far longer than it should to realise that his hair is glowing. 

He sits up, not daring to let go of Todd to reach up and check, but the gentle glow of the room is enough to confirm it. His confusion keeps him silent, but he watches in awe as a glowing tear slides down his cheek, and lands on Todd’s skin where it flares up briefly, and disappears altogether. 

His breath hitches, frowning in confusion when it happens again, reaching up with his fingers to wipe the tears from his cheeks and pulling hand back to look at them. They glow there too, shimmering on his fingertips before fading away into nothing, and he stares after them in disbelief, realising quite suddenly that the room is growing even brighter than it had been before. 

When Dirk looks down, Todd is glowing. The golden light wrapping around him, bursting out of the wound in his side as it travels up and out from the centre of him, spreading up his chest and down his legs until there’s not an inch of him _not_ radiating the sunlight that Dirk has only ever seen on himself, except this time it’s so bright he has to shield his eyes from it, watching through his fingers, too afraid something might go wrong to look away. 

Then, seemingly as soon as it had appeared, the light starts to fade. It dims down into a warm flicker of gold, until the last remaining ember of it dies away, and Dirk doesn’t dare even _breathe_ , trying his best to ignore the hope that had burst open inside of him, knowing he won’t be able to stand another heartbreak. 

Instead he watches, spellbound, as Todd remains motionless in his lap for what feels like the longest time, before slowly, _impossibly_ , Todd’s eyelashes flutter open, and Dirk’s entire world is taken up by the most _incredible_ shade of blue. 

“Todd?” He whispers, barely daring to say his name lest it break the spell they’re under, but Todd just groans, hand going to his side with a frown as he turns to look at Dirk, where he finds his own wide-eyed disbelief mirrored on his face. 

“ _What-”_

“Todd!” This time it’s incredulous, and Dirk launches himself at him before Todd even has chance to right himself, sending them both crashing back down to the floor with his enthusiasm, but even Todd’s yell of panic turns into relieved laughter after a moment as he wraps his arms around Dirk to pull him in close. 

He thinks it might be the best thing he’s ever felt in his life. 

“What happened?” Todd asks after a moment, staring at Dirk like he can’t believe he’s there. “I mean I don’t- there was a _light_ but-”

“You were glowing! _I_ was glowing! It was- I don’t know I just- I _asked_ and then you were- I missed you!” This time the tears in his eyes are happy, and he doesn’t try to stop them, deciding Todd is too far away, even at this distance, and throwing himself back into his embrace. 

“ _Missed me_?” He asks, sounding worried. “How long was I _gone_?”

“About five minutes,” Dirk admits, delighting in the way it makes Todd laugh.

He pulls back so he can watch the expression cross his face with undisguised awe, hands still clutching the front of his shirt. Todd is staring back at him now, eyes full of _something_ he’s not sure how to place, but knows without a doubt can be found mirrored in his own. 

There aren’t any words he can put to how he feels, nothing he can say to express just how relieved he is to have him back, how much he despaired in the few moments he was gone, how determined he is to never let him go again. So instead, he does the only thing that makes sense.

Todd lets out a squeak of surprise when Dirk pulls him into a kiss, pressing their mouths together with very little finesse, but _more_ than enough enthusiasm. It hardly takes him long to get on board though, keeping his arm wrapped around Dirk’s waist to hold him close as he cups his cheek with the other, Dirk’s own fingers sliding into Todd’s hair as he tries to find the best way to make this work. The way Todd gasps against his mouth a moment later tells him he’s found it, and Dirk doesn’t think he’s ever _heard_ a better sound. 

Eventually though their fervour dims, and when the kiss breaks they don’t go far. Foreheads pressed together, noses brushing, fingers tracing over cheeks. It’s enough, for a while, to sit in the quiet, eyes closed, and listen to each other breathing. 

“You know,” Dirk says eventually, words little more than a murmur in the silence around them. “As it turns out… I’m actually a prince.”

Todd frowns, but it’s not long before his expression changes into one of slow realisation, shaking his head as it dawns on him exactly what Dirk means, and not finding any reason to disbelieve it. 

“I feel like I should have worked that out,” he says eventually. Dirk laughs, breaking the quiet with joy it pulls out of him, letting himself fall back onto the rug to stare up at the ceiling and dragging Todd along with him. They might not have any plans for what comes next, but they don’t have anywhere to be right now, and Dirk is more than willing to take advantage of that, turning to face Todd to find him smiling softly at him.

“What?” He asks, perhaps a little suspicious. Todd shrugs one shoulder, raising a teasing eyebrow that sends little sparks shooting through his stomach. 

“Sorry about your jacket,” he grins, unable to hold it back when Dirk snorts, rolling his eyes like it’s the least of his concerns. 

“Well,” he teases back, shuffling in closer like he’s telling him a secret, “if you had to choose one I suppose I’d rather lose the jacket than my hair.”

This time when Todd smiles, Dirk gets to feel it pressed against his own. As far as kisses go he doesn’t think it’s the most effective way to do it, but then he supposes as Todd’s hands find their way into his hair, they’ll have time to figure that all out later. 

For now he’s content, for once in his life, to let the sky darken without rushing to watch it.

There’s no blue in a sunset anyway, and that’s always been his favourite colour.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked this chapter please leave a comment! It's pretty much the only kind of payment I get for this so you know, that'd be cool of you <3


	11. Ten (Epilogue)

There has always been one glaring failure hanging over Farah Black's head, one that she'd inherited the day she became captain. One that, even though she'd _hoped_ , she'd never _dreamed_ of being able to rectify. 

Before it was hers it was her father's, and he'd made it his life's mission to put it right. She knows all too well the guilt he'd felt, the way he'd let it consume him, and that after all that time spent searching, he'd died before he'd even come close to finding what had been lost. When she'd sat with him as he lay dying he'd told her it was the most important thing in the world, to find a purpose that would make a difference, and strive to be the best she possibly could. She'd sworn to him that she wouldn't let his work go to waste, but with every year that had passed that promise had grown more and more fragile, as hopes steadily dwindled, and the fire that had driven his efforts had started to die out.

She'd thought, guiltily, somewhere deep down, that there might come a day when they would have to close the book on this chapter and try to move on to something new.

All of this is why she has to force herself to take a moment outside the great hall, wiping the few stray tears that have rolled down her cheeks, before shaking her head to right herself, and drawing herself up to her full height as she pushes the doors open, unwilling to wait a moment longer.

The King turns to look at her first, frowning like he's going to reprimand her for intruding so bluntly, but pausing when he notices the look on her face. Farah is a consummate professional, and it's safe to say that disbelieving joyful tears are not usually a part of her carefully cultivated demeanour, a fact that the Queen must also have picked up on if the soft ray of hope that blooms on her face is anything to go by.

For a moment there's silence, because when she reaches for the words she can't get them out. All this time she's searched, all this time they've waited, and she's not quite sure what she's meant to say to bring all of that to an end.

When she speaks it's softer than she's ever spoken before, but it seems to echo around the room like a prayer, bouncing off the rafters and back to the ears that have waited to hear them for so long.

"We've found him," she shakes her head like she can't quite believe it's true, unable to hold back her smile as she does so, trying her best not to cry. "We've found the Prince."

It hangs in the air for the moment, the entire room frozen as the meaning sets in, and honestly Farah doesn't think she's ever felt happier than when the King rises from his throne and rushes over to sweep her into a hug, brief but fervent as he holds her back by the shoulders, eyes shining.

"Where?" he asks, clutching for his wife's hand as she rushes over to join them, equally tearful as she presses her own hand to her mouth like she's trying to hold herself together. "Where is he?"

"Outside. He's- waiting for you, on the balcony. I- I think he's a little nervous but-"

"Is he-" the Queen starts, reaching out to cup Farah's cheek. The loss of the Prince had brought her family close to theirs, and after her father had died they'd done all that they could for her. She'd grown up in these walls, sworn to guard a Prince that she was too young to remember meeting, and it feels right, _perfect_ even, to be able to have this moment with them, after so many years of waiting.

"He's..." She laughs, thinking of all the words she could use to describe Dirk to them now. But she knows what she's really asking, holding onto her hand reassuringly and nodding. "He's safe. Good. He's... _happy_."

It's enough to make her laugh with relief, and Farah watches as they look at each other, seeing the years fall away from them like melted snow. For so long grief had been the cornerstone of their lives, and Farah doesn't think there's anybody better suited to filing all of that away than Dirk Gently.

She hopes, as the King and Queen hold tight to each other’s hands and turn to rush out to meet their son, that whatever happens next they'll all have peace.

She waits behind just long enough to press her hand longingly to the portrait of her father that hangs on the wall by the door, before following them out into the light.

***

"What if they don't like me?" Dirk asks for what feels like the fiftieth time, fidgeting his fingers as he tries his best not to turn and run away. It's all good and well finding out that he's the Prince, that he has a home somewhere, and a family that misses him, but when faced with actually _meeting_ them, well. He's not sure he's that brave.

"They will," Todd promises, reaching out to soothe his restless hands. "And if they don't then that's their loss. But... there's no _way_ they won't. They spent this long searching for you, remember? They're going to love you. They _already_ love you." He hopes so at least, the last thing he wants is more heartbreak for Dirk, but then Todd wonders if that means it might be _his_ turn for a dose of it instead.

Despite everything he'd managed to do over the past few days, Todd can't help but look at where they are, what comes next, all the ways Dirk's life is about to change for the better, and know he can't _possibly_ compete with _any_ of this.

It'll be worth it though, for Dirk to be happy. Safe. Loved. With the family he's always deserved, _never_ should have been taken from, who can give him all the things Todd will never be able to. Dirk _deserves_ this, and Todd _wants_ it for him. He just doesn't know what this means for _him_.

He's hoping that finding Dirk outweighs his previous charges, but there's a possibility no matter how slight, that they might still hang him after all.

He tries his best not to think about it.

"But what _if_ -"

Todd smiles softly, pushing all other thoughts from his mind as he shakes his head at his worry.

"Then you'll still have me, and we'll work it out."

Dirk smiles back, looking a little sheepish about his incessant worrying, cheeks flushing pink as he looks at Todd like he can't quite believe that he's real.

Todd just holds onto his hands, feeling like he should lean in and kiss him again, a feeling that has never quite gone away since the first time. He doesn’t get chance though, and it’s just as well he hadn’t because he’s not sure being found kissing a wanted criminal is the first impression Dirk wants to make upon finding his parents again. 

The doors swing open, and Todd steps aside as Dirk turns to look, eyes wide and full of hope. 

For a moment Dirk just stares, watching the people he knows to be his parents and searching for some kind of familiarity in their faces. They look just as scared as he feels, afraid of disappointment perhaps, or the change it will bring to them all. The Queen, his _mother_ , something he’s never known before now, reaches out to cup his face delicately. Her hand is shaking as she searches his face, and whatever confirmation she was looking for she clearly finds there, because her expression turns to a wondrous smile, tears welling up in her eyes as she shakes her head and throws her arms around him. He only hesitates for a moment before he buries his face in her shoulder. It feels _right_. His father, his _actual_ father, wastes no time in pulling them both in to hold them close. He’s saying something, but Dirk can barely make it out, too overwhelmed by the feeling of belonging, of being _wanted_ that he can barely keep himself steady under the weight of their affection. 

Todd watches the exchange from afar, smiling sadly at the scene. Dirk is happy, he’s home, he’s _safe_ , it’s all Todd wants for him in the end, but it’s not a picture he can see himself part of no matter how much he tries. He sighs heavily to himself, running a hand through his hair and turning towards the door, only to be greeted by Farah who already has an unimpressed eyebrow in place. 

“Going somewhere?”

Todd opens his mouth, stammering guiltily around his words for a moment before settling on shrugging uncertainly. “He’s… He’s got everything he’s ever wanted.”

“So, what? You’re just going to _leave_?” She’s looking more unimpressed by the second, and Todd rubs at the back of his neck, casting his eyes to the ground even if he can still feel the weight of her gaze.

“I’m- I’m a _wanted criminal_ Farah. I’ve _literally_ been sentenced to death for treason. Do you _really_ think that’s going to go down well with-” 

She breaks into a smile, the fond kind, complete with rolling eyes that make Todd frown suspicously. 

“I didn’t call in a gang of ruffians to save your life just so you could go right back to prison. And, Todd, if you believe for one minute Dirk is still going to be happy here without you then you’re a bigger idiot than I thought you were which, honestly? Is quite impressive.”

Todd’s eyebrows scrunch up in bewildered offence, but there’s very little he can say to that when he knows that she’s _right_. He has a long history of running away from anything that feels too serious, whether it’s good or bad, but even he can admit that it’s a bad way to live, full of regrets and could have beens and far, _far_ too lonely. In the end leaving would make them _both_ miserable, but that knowledge doesn’t make him any less afraid of staying. 

Dirk might though. 

“Todd!” He calls, the word overflowing with joy and when Todd turns to look Dirk is smiling back at him like the sunlight he keeps inside is bursting out of him. In the face of it Todd can’t help but smile back, any thoughts of going anywhere feeling more insignificant by the second. 

Dirk beckons him over, and Todd only hesitates for as long as it takes Farah to push him forward. He stumbles to right himself, swallowing nervously as he makes his way over, trying to remember if there’s some kind of etiquette for meeting the King and Queen.

As soon as he’s close enough Dirk reaches for his hand and drags him in closer than he feels is normal, the warmth of his fingers twined through his own is grounding though, and he tries his best to focus on that more than the way his heart feels like it’s going to beat right out of his chest. 

“This is my- Well, this is _Todd_. He’s…” adoring is the only way to describe the way Dirk looks at him as he tries to find the right words. “He’s absolutely _perfect_. Well, he’s a little grumpy, and there’s the whole awkward thing about him being a _criminal_ which, frankly, is a _little_ bit unfair seeing as if all of that business hadn’t gone down he never would have found me and I’d still be-” his smile falters there, just a flicker, and Todd just squeezes his hand reassuringly. Dirk clears his throat and shakes his head. “The point is. This is Todd, and I would very much like it if… if he could stay too? Because I- I _think_ he might be the most important person in the world to me, not that you’re not wonderful! I’m sure you are! But… I already know I love him, and I don’t think I’d want to be here if he wasn’t here too.”

It’s a lot, and Todd almost wants to make him take it back because he’s fairly sure it’s not worth upsetting his parents the moment he’s just found them again. To his surprise, the King just looks him over for a long moment, before holding out his hand. 

When Todd takes it uncertainly, the King waits for him to meet his eyes before raising his other hand to clasp Todd’s between them. He’s surprised by how earnest his voice is when he speaks. 

“I can’t say I approve of your methods,” he starts, and Todd finds himself trying not to shrink away under the weight of it. “But what you have returned to us is worth _far_ more than what was taken. I would have given every treasure we own to see my son returned to us, and I don’t believe a pardon would even begin to be enough in the way of gratitude, but seeing as my boy has so convincingly argued your case I should think it would be a good place to start.”

His smile is warm and welcoming, and Todd can barely breathe for the relief the words send flooding through him. Instead he finds himself smiling back, looking over his shoulder at Farah. “It was kind of a group effort, actually.”

The King follows his gaze, smiling kindly at Farah as he drops Todd’s hand to beckon her over as well, and once she’s close enough Dirk doesn’t hesitate to drag her into a hug, not wanting to think of anything else but being right here in this moment. 

Dirk tries so very hard not to let himself get overwhelmed, but in the middle of it all, tears and laughter and seemingly endless embraces, his eyes find Todd’s for a moment of quiet. Here, with the promise of a new start and surrounded by people who love him, it’s the first Dirk has ever really understood of family, and when Todd reaches out to take his hand, he thinks it may be the first he’s ever understood of love without agenda or cause, for nothing but the joy of it and the love it brings in return. 

***

The celebrations last for _weeks_ , the grief that had haunted the streets of the city for decades is swept away with the endless festivities, music and dancing that lasts well into the night, seeking to push out the darkness from every corner, bringing new life with it. 

Dirk is insistent on seeing it all. He spends days running around from party to party, delighting in the sights and sounds and the way people are so excited to see him. Todd had worried at first that the near-constant attention may be too much for him, but if anything he seems to revel in it, and strange as some people may find him, it’s obvious to anyone who watches that the people find it all too easy to fall in love with him. On occasion Todd even finds himself feeling a little jealous, but it’s always him that Dirk looks back for when he’s dragged him out into the streets, and he ends up feeling foolish for even thinking that. The only thing he really has left to worry about is the smile Dirk gives just before he pulls him into something Todd doesn’t have the strength to say no to.

That, and the advances his sister seems to be making on the captain of the palace guard. 

Farah seems happier now than when they first met. She’s still ruthlessly effective at her job, of course, but her laughter seems to come easier now, and more often than not Todd finds her smiling at something or other that’s been said, even when she's on duty. It’s like a weight has been lifted from her shoulders, even on the days she’s tasked with chasing Dirk down to make sure he hasn’t lost his crown again. The habit he has of putting it on the head of any child who wants to try it on have led to more searches than she wishes she had to carry out, but it turns out Amanda’s rowdy bunch of ruffians are rather good at tracking it down, even if they are a little noisy about it. 

She wouldn’t exactly call it a working relationship, but it would be fair to say that she and Amanda have worked out a truce of sorts. The palace guard continue to patrol the towns, but the forest is looked after by a rather effective network of troublemakers who are happy to put their knowledge to good use in exchange for being otherwise left to their own devices. She’s determined not to let any of the Kingdom go unnoticed, not when Dirk had been under their noses the whole time, and so she reasoned to the King and Queen that the best people to raise the alarm in the event of suspicious activity in the woods, were the people who spent the most time there. It turns out to work _surprisingly_ well in the end, and crime in the kingdom is lower than ever, which leaves Farah more time on her hands than she really knows what to do with.

Todd, who runs into her _more_ than once on his visits to the Snuggly Duckling, has his own suspicions about how she’s filling it. He’d gotten a punch in the arm when he’d asked Amanda about it though, and a rather suggestive wiggling of eyebrows from Tina when her back is turned. It’s about as much of a confirmation as he could hope to get without them coming out and _saying_ it, but when he sees the way his sister smiles at her, and the way Farah blushes in response, the only thing he cares about is that they’re happy. 

Happy like he is now. 

If you’d asked Todd last year if he thought he’d ever be as happy as he is now, he probably would have laughed in your face and cried about it later, but these days he’s finding it harder and harder to believe that he’ll ever _not_ be happy again. 

He moves into the palace with Dirk, and it’s a strange adjustment from working in the kitchens, but one they both start to settle into with time. They’re learning how to do this together, how to exist in this new world they’ve found themselves in, and how to do their best to leave the past behind them. 

Todd still has his dark days of course, when the guilt creeps up on him and he feels the urge to run away like he used to. And Dirk never quite manages to let go of the man he’d called a father for so long, even if now he can see him for what he was and knows the depth of his betrayal. There are times when Todd sees him reach for his jacket and stare at his hands like he can’t work out where it went, or when he panics because the door is locked, or the room is too big and he can’t seem to find Mona anywhere. 

They can’t fix those things, but they work around them. They talk about their guilt and their grief, they keep the door unlocked. Todd spends a whole day building Mona her own little room inside theirs, she’s partial to being a bluebird at the time, but he tries to find a way to make it work for all the things she could be when the mood takes her. He buys Dirk a new jacket, sunshine yellow with none of the magic of his original one, but still something he’s rarely seen without in the end. 

It’s a good start to a good life, one that neither of them are willing to give up on, so when Todd _finally_ finds the courage to ask Dirk to marry him, he barely gets to finish the question before Dirk is saying yes. 

There is a legend known only to a handful of people, passed on by word of mouth from ancestors and storytellers and drunkards over the late night hush of a dying fire, about a child with golden hair with the ability to heal anything if they loved it enough, and a family driven mad in the quest to seek out the power and keep it for their own. There is a legend that the child had been kept hidden away, that they had never seen the sunlight or walked on the grass, that those who had so long sought out that power had found it at last, but were unable to use it for their own desires. There is a legend that says only when the child is at peace, will peace be returned to the land. 

Nobody knows if the rumours are true, nobody knows if they truly _believe_ , but once the prince was returned home to his family, the peace that was promised to the kingdom for so long had washed over it like a wave. The sadness that had sunken into the very ground the kingdom had been built upon released its hold on the people. The villages started to rebuild, the towns began to flourish, and in the city the people thrived. 

The palace never knew a day of sadness, the walls filled with joy and laughter and the warmth of finding a family. Every year on his birthday, with his love at his side, the prince would light the first lantern himself, a reminder of the dream that had led him home, and a beacon of hope to be taken with him into his new life.

The King and Queen ruled with a newfound kindness, the Prince’s wedding marked the start of a new chapter in the land, and though nobody forgot the years that had come before, slowly they started to move forwards together into a brighter future. 

The old legends were replaced with new stories, the rumours no longer spoken, and in the end the secret that had caused so much pain only to bring so much joy was lost to time once more. 

Dirk Gently found that despite everything he had ever been led to believe, he never needed magic to have a place in the world, and he had always had it in him to find his own way to live happily ever after, even if he’d needed a little help along the way. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! There we go. Did it!
> 
> Honestly this was _so_ much work I'd love it if you left a comment to let me know what you think! It's about the only way I get any payment for this!
> 
> I can't quite believe this is over, I've been sitting on this fic plan for a _long_ time, and this was definitely the final push I needed to get it done. The next project will be my Big Bang, so I might be going dark again for a little while but you can fine me at [kieren-fucking-walker](https://kieren-fucking-walker.tumblr.com) in the meantime if you want to be updated with what a mess I am and when my next fic will be out. 
> 
> I love every single one of you, and if you read this and enjoyed it then consider it a gift to you from me for still being here and reading my shit. 
> 
> Thank you <3


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